


Surviving for Dummies

by Bugsy2019



Series: A Guide for Dummies on Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Nursing, Season/Series 01, Season/Series 02, Slow Burn, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:48:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 25
Words: 59,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22431364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bugsy2019/pseuds/Bugsy2019
Summary: Paisley Grimes had three worst moments in her life. One, when her brother was shot while on duty; two, when her world shattered due to the new virus started to make the dead come back to life; and three; the first moment she saw Darly Dixon. Her best three moments: Getting her brother back, being with her family, and meeting Daryl Dixon. It wasn't exactly a fairy tale when the Princess met the Hunter. To him, she was the spoiled princess that got on his nerves. To her, he was the loud mouth asshole who bothered her every second of every day. Together, they keep their group alive. Can they survive each other and this new world?
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s)
Series: A Guide for Dummies on Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1614244
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. The Worst Times

**Author's Note:**

> Cast:   
> Shelly Hennings as Paisley Grimes   
> Norman Reedus as Daryl Doxon 
> 
> "No one can tell what goes in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and loney section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don't."- Stephen King

Some say that in the split of a second that they're world comes to a stop. As a nurse, I see this often. A loved one comes into the ER, their family is waiting for either new that will shatter their world or heal it. I reassure them that everything is being done...I tell them the truth. But people just want a lie. A lie that will make the pain go away. A lie that gives the the slightest glimmer of hope. In school, they taught us that the patient's family was also our patients. As we heal the person in the hospital bed, we also heal the family. I never realized what it all meant until I was put in that position. I wish that somebody told me a lie. 

It first started on a bring and sunny morning. It was a perfectly normal day for me. I got up at the ass crack of dawn, ran on my treadmill watching the early morning news, made myself a cup of coffee, grabbing a protein bar and scarfing it down. I dressed in my navy blue scrubs, stuffing a bag of chips, an apple, and another protein bar into bag. I made sure that I had everything I needed before I walked out my front door. Cell phone, check. ID badge, check. Snacks and water bottle, check. Hair ties, hair brush, clean pair of clothes to change into after work, check, check, check. I grabbed my keys, jacket, and headed out the door, remembering to lock up. 

I first headed out to the deputy sheriff's department to greet my brother a good morning. Ever since I graduate from nursing school just two years ago, I moved back to our small Georgia town. I lived a couple of streets away from my older brother- close enough to be close, but far enough to have my independence. Ever since our parents died when I was sixteen, he became my best friend, guardian, and person that I trusted most in the world. I loved my brother and my nephew more than anything in the world. I always put family as a high priority on my list. My sister in law...she was another story. 

Rick was 26 years old when our parents died. Even though he was married already to Lori, I came to live with them for two years until I graduated from high school and moved onto college. I guess I wasn't easist teenager at the time. One, I was extremely angry at my parents for getting into a car crash. I was angry at the drunk driver that hit them making their car get t-boned int a tree. My temper has always been my downfall. I thought she was trying to take Rick away from me. But in the two years I lived with them, I saw how happy she made him, so she got a free hall pass. The second best person in my life was his best friend and partner, Shane Walsh. Shane was like a big brother to me as well. This made having boyfriends hard. 

Here I was, 25, and a contributing member to society. As I walked into King's Cross Sheriff's office, I instantly noticed my brothers sulky figure. He was hunched over his desk, rubbing his temples, and I knew that something was wrong. The past family dinner that we had, I could sense that there was tension between Rick and Lori. I try my hardest to keep out of it, not wanting to get in the middle of a martial dispute. I tried my best to keep Carl out of it to. 

"Deputy," I greeted, setting down the Starbucks cup on his desk. "Large black coffee, just for my favorite big brother." 

"Nurse," Rick teased, getting up to give me a hug. "Thanks, Paisley. I really needed this." 

"Did Lori make you sleep on the couch again?" I asked, crossing my arms. 

"Yep...It's just...the more I try, the harder things become. You wouldn't believe the things she she said this morning to me in front of Carl."

This made my stomach churn. "You really need to think about the separation thing, Rick. I don't like seeing you like this. She's beating you down! I know you love her, but this isn't healthy. Not for you or for Carl." 

"You don't understand...It's just a rough patch."

"Rough patch my ass. I still have that guest room set up for you for whenever. Where's Shane?"

"He's around here somewhere."

"Well, I should get going. I mean it, Rick. Think about it." I gave him a hug, placing a small kiss on his cheek. "Be careful out there."

"Always."

"Tell Shane I said hi," I called out, heading back outside. 

I went work like it was a normal day. I clocked in, got report, checked on my patients, and headed for any incoming traumas. So far it was the normal stuff...a couple of broken bones, sicknesses, a car accident, then something so terrible that I couldn't even process it. "Incoming trauma!" shouted an paramedic rolling in a stretcher. "Deputy Sheriff, GSW lower abdomen, left side. Male, mid thirties, name Rick Grimes." 

At that name, I came running. It seemed like the world was moving in slow motion. "Wait...that's my brother..." I said halting at the sight of Rick. He was deathly pale, not moving, his heart rate monitor barely showing a rhythm, his vitals crashing... "Oh, God..." I gasped. 

"Paisley, you need to back up..." one of the nurses told me, getting me out of the way. I didn't know that I had moved near the gurney. "Paisley..."

"No, no, no, no..." 

"Paisley!" Shane shouted, rushing to me. 

"What happened?!" I asked, feeling my lungs constrict. 

"It was a high-speed chase. We stopped to lay down a spike strip, and it worked. Rick was shot in the chest, but in his vest. We thought it was just the two...but there was a third. They got him where the vest didn't cover..."

"Jesus..." I breathed out. The ER doctor told that they were taking him in surgery. I know know why we said that the doctors are doing everything possible to save a loved one. But I didn't want that. I grabbed the nearest nurse and I begged for the truth. I wished I hadn't asked for it. 

When my brother came to, Lori was there, tears in her eyes. I could see the guilt in them...I didn't know what she told him that morning, but I knew that she wished she didn't. The only reassuring thing that kept us all grounded was the heart rate monitor. 

It was a couple of weeks later that the world truly turned to shit. I was watching the news on my day off. I wore a pair of jean cut off shorts, boot socks, and a blue tank top. The news was encouraging everybody to stay indoors because of this new virus that was spreading like rapid fire. My phone beeped with a request for me to come in to help out. I sighed and was about to find the umph to get up and change into my scrubs when I heard urgent knocking. Going open to the door, I saw Shane sweaty, pale, and honestly...freaked out. 

"Shane? What happened?" I asked. 

"Pack a bag...we need to go."

"Go, go where? I just got called into work."

"Paise...we need to go. Now! This new virus?! I've seen it! People are going crazy and eating each other! We need to go!" 

In my years of knowing Shane, I never saw him look so terrified. "Okay..." I whispered, running into my room. I grabbed a duffel bag, shoving socks, underwear, sport bras, regular bras, tanks, shots, skinny jeans, my converse, cardigans, and my favorite pairs of boots. 

"Paisley! Grab your gun and all the ammo you have..." Shane called out. "And any medicine and medical supplies that you have!" 

I grabbed the emergency first aid kit from underneath my bed, and my gun safe in my closet. I quickly undid the lock and grabbed my Kimber Amethyst Ultra II handgun and her bullets, stuffing them in my bag. I grabbed the hip holster, shoving it in my bag, and then finally grabbed my favorite jean jacket. Running, I saw Shane steal my protein bars, and shove them into my bag. "Okay..."I said, nodding my head as I slipped on my jacket. 

We got outside, where I heard a groan coming over from my neighbors. "Mr. Roberts?" I asked, rushing over to see if he was okay. 

"Damn it, Paisley!" Shane cursed, rushing over to me. "We got to go!" 

"We need to help him!" I argued back. But something was wrong. Looking into his eyes, I saw no life in them at all. And looking behind him I saw his poor wife on the ground, a big chuck of her missing from her neck. I looked up to see Mr. Roberts charging at me. Screaming, I fell back and used my booted foot to kick him off of me remembering my self-defense lessons. I heard a gun shot and saw Shane standing behind me. "What the fuck?!" 

"We got to go! Now!" 

"What the fuck is happening?!" I asked, throwing my bag into the back seat and getting into the passenger seat. 

"What they told us is that this virus infects somebody...You get bit and change into that...We need to get Carl and Lori."

"What about Rick?" Shane was quiet. "Shane...we're going to get Rick right?"

"Paisley...the hospital was overrun. I'm sorry."

"No...They said that they were going to evacuate the hospitals..."

"They were too late. I went there first. I'm so sorry."

I was in to much of a shock to process what was happening. So was Lori when we picked her and Carl up. We made pit stops on the way. Drug stores where I grabbed everything that they had pill wise, bandages, antibiotic creams... For a while it was slim pickings until we found a group that Shane, Lori, and I all trusted. 

The group seemed alright. It grew as we continued to move until we found a spot to camp out until we figured out a new move. There was a forest, and a stream that connected to a river. Slowly, we began a new civilization...or it seemed like. There was Dale, who was a father figure to a lot of us. Then there was Glenn, who we hit off instantly. He was goofy, and sweet. He quickly became my best friend, us being around the same age. He was a pizza delivery guy. There was two sisters that was named Andrea and Amy who stuck to each other. A couple who was nice named T-Dog and Jacqui. Another couple, Carol and Ed, who wasn't so nice. The Morales family, Jim- the weird guy, and a few other people. But the most annoying person of all, as we save the worst for last was the Dixon brothers. Merle was the eldest. He was loud, rude, and awful. Then there was Daryl. From the moment that Daryl and I met, we instantly butted heads. I guess we were both strong individuals, but god, he was so annoying. He was quieter than his brother, but he was a asshole. He thought he new best because he was a hunter. I couldn't stand him. 

In the month that we've been all together, we learned how to work together. We all had duties and responsibilities. My job was easily the "medic". As the weeks went by, I had to slowly turn away from modern medicine into more complementary medicine. Even the world went to shit...It wasn't that long until the world started to get better again. 


	2. Hello From the Other Side

My new routine was to wake up inside of my tent, change into a pair of clean clothes that I could find, eat what very little we had, and do my chores at around camp. "Dammit..." I cursed, sitting on a log and looking at what very low stock of medical supplies. Hopefully, Glenn and the others would find a new stash. We were sadly down to makeshift bandages. Half of our best people were out scavenging for supplies. I would have gone with them, but a person with medical experience was the golden egg. I could take of myself out there, but I had the others to worry about. 

Nearby Dale and Amy was working with the old CB radio that Shane scavenged, while Lori and I worked on washing and makeshift bandages. "You know best how to work this. Shane, come over and try to work this radio!" Dale called out. 

Shane stepped out, fiddling with the dial before grabbing the microphone. "Hello, hello, is the person who calls still on air? This is officer Shane Walsh, broadcasting a person unknown, please respond." There was nothing but static on other line. 

"There are others. It's not just us," Lori said, smiling. 

"Yeah. We knew there would be. That's why we left the CB on."

"Lots of good its been doing. And I've been saying for a week, we ought to put signs up on 85 to warn people away from the city." 

Amy nodded, agreeing. "Folks got no idea what they're getting it."

"We don't have enough time," Shane argued. 

"I think we need to make time," Lori snapped. 

"Yeah, that, uh...That's a luxury we can't afford."

"I'm with Shane, Lor. We are surviving here. We are day to day." 

"Who the hell would you propose to send?" Dale asked. 

"I'll go. Give me a vechile," Lori volunteered. 

"Nobody goes anywhere alone, you know that," Shane said. 

"Yes, sir," Lori snapped again, getting up to head back to her tent. Carl started up to follow but Shane and I stopped him from going. Poor Carl had his whole world turned upside down in a month. First he lost his dad, then he was uprooted from his home. Thank god for Sophia, Carol and Ed's daughter, and the Morales kids to keep him entertained. 

"Hey, hey, hey, come on. Take a sit, buddy. You're alright, go on. You're alright." 

"Hey...Wanna help me finish these badanges. I'm going to be here until I get wrinkles." 

Carl smiled. "You're already old, Aunt Paisley."

I fake scoffed, placing a hand over my heart. "Excuse me, little man, I am 25 years old. Where are your southern manners?!" 

I was always glad to see Carl smile. It made the pain of losing Rick lessen. I never let myself fully grieve, nor could I. There was no place for crying in this new world. Carl and I joked as we finished the badanges as Shane went over to talk to Lori. I frowned, but minded my own buisness as I wiped my hands on my shorts. I wasn't stupid. I knew that Shane and Lori were sleeping together. I didn't blame them. Lori lost Rick, as did Shane. Shane was there for Lori and Carl. A moment of pleasure was enough sometimes to send the terrors outside away for a brief moment. 

Lori and I had become close in the last weeks. We both mourned Rick together, and kept each other from breaking apart. We were all we had left. Carl wandered over back to the tent when I was done. "How we looking?" Lori asked, coming back as I sat down. 

"Well...old t-shirts aren't exactly sterile. The risk for infection can kill somebody. But it's all we got. I miss modern medicine," I sighed. "We're nearly out of pills. I'm starting to think that I need to go Eastern and use herbal remedies and shit like that." 

"You'll figure out something," Lori encouraged. "You've kept us alive and healthy."

"Thanks, Lori. This is fustrating as hell." 

"Maybe Daryl knows something. He spends all of his time in those woods," Amy voiced, a teasing tone in her voice. 

"I would rather die of septicemia than admit to him that I need help. So what if he knows how to track and 'lives off the land'. I'll figure it out. You know what Daryl Dixon doesn't have? A Bachelor's Degree." 

The feud first started when we first met. He and his brother were loud together. I went over to ask them to be quiet because some of us were trying to sleep, and he told me that I was welcomed in his tent anytime. I was repelled, cursed him out loud of enough to wake the whole camp. From there, it wasn't better. We had feuding opinions on things like how to make camp better, how to cook the food that be brought, and what was safe to eat. What was the most irritating is that he seemed to make the point to bother me. 

"Hopefully he'll be back soon with our week's dinner," Lori sighed, turning to Amy who was sorting mushrooms they had picked earlier. "Any luck?"

"How do we tell if they're poison?"

"Uh, there's only one sure way to I know of," Lori sighed. 

"Ask Shane when he gets back?" I smirked. "Better than trying yourself. I can't save you from poisonous mushrooms."

Lori rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Yeah, you've got it. Thank you." Lori got up and brushed off her jeans. "Dale, I'm heading out. Sweetheart, I want you to say where Dale and Aunt Paisley can see you, okay?" 

Carl nodded, smiling. "Yes, mom." 

"You too. Don't wander too far. Stay within shouting distance. And if you see anything, holler. I'll come running," Dale told her. 

"Yes, mom," Lori smirked, heading out into the woods. 

I headed towards my tent, grabbing my dirty clothes. I headed towards the stream where I saw Sophia and her mother, Carol. "Hey, Sophia. Carol," I greeted, setting down my basket of clothes. 

"Hi, Paisley! Can you do that braid to my hair again?" Sophia asked. 

"Maybe later," I smiled, straightening up. Then I saw Carol's cut underneath her eye. "Dammit, Carol. Again?"

Carol froze, her smile and her eyes saying different things. "It's nothing. It just slipped and cut myself."

I held my tongue, and sighed. "If you ever need an out, you and Sophia are always welcome in my tent. I'll make Glenn sleep outside."

"Thanks, Paisley. Any news on the others."

I looked up at the sun, noticing that it was getting slightly lower. "No. But hopefully they get back soon. Amy is going to keep us up all night if Andrea isn't back." 

After I handed off my clothes, thanking Carol, I headed back to my tent. I longed reading an old book that Glenn found for me on his last run. Jim and Dale was working on the hunk of crap that Dale called an RV. Shane was playing with Carl with Lori looking on. The sun began to set, and the others went back yet. Amy stood around waiting for any sign of them. My mind wandered to Glenn. The moment we first met, we hit it off. Two weeks of being in the group, Glenn made his move. I slight turn of his head, I realized what was happening and turned my head. I explained that the feelings I felt for him were brotherly and platonic. He took it well and made it up to him. To ease the tension, I made us matching bracelets to signify our friendship, and promised to be his wing man if we ever came across a single woman that he was attracted to. 

"Boy, that hose isn't long for this world, is it?" Dale asked, looking at the engine. 

"No, sir," Jim said. 

"Where the hell are we gonna find a replacement?" Dale asked. 

"It's late," Amy suddenly voiced. "They should've been back by now."

"Worrying won't make it better."

"She's right, though," I said, getting my from my spot. "It's going to get dark soon...and it looks like its going to rain." 

"Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me? Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me?" came the familiar voice from the radio. 

Anxiety and excitement rolled throughout the camp. Dale got to the radio quickly in record time, taking the hand-held piece. "Hello? Helly? Reception bad's on this end. Repeat. Repeat." 

"Shane, is that you?" T-Dog asked. 

Everybody stopped what they were doing, crowding around the small device. "Is that them?" Lori asked. 

"We're in some deep shit. We're trapped in the department store." 

"That doesn's sound good," I said. 

The next words none of us didn't get. "T-Dog, repeat the last. Repeat." 

The radio stopped, causing us all to freeze. "He said the department store," I said. 

"I heard it too," Dale sighed. 

"Shane?" Lori asked, hope in her voice. 

But Shane quickly squashed that hope. "No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that."

"So, we're just going leave her there?" Amy asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears. 

"Look, Amy, I know that is is not easy..." Shane tried to explain. 

"She volunteered to go to help the rest of us." 

"I know, and she knew the risks, right? See, if she's trapped, she's gone. So, we just have to deal with that. There's nothing we can do." 

"She's my sister, you son of a bitch!" Amy spat, taking off. 

I sighed, tossing my book into my tent. "You can be an asshole, Shane," I said, heading off to follow Amy. 

"Amy, he didn't mean it," I told her as I found her crying out by a few trees. 

"You don't understand! She's all I have left. You have Shane, Lori, and Carl, and Glenn."

"I do understand..." I said, leaning against the tree. "I lost my brother a week before all of this mess happened. He was a deputy like Shane. He was shot in the line of duty. I was at home when all of this mess started. Shane came and got me. He went to the hospital first. It was overrun and he was gone. I think of him everyday. So, I know how it feels."

"How do you keep going?" Amy asked. 

"I honestly don't know," I admitted, shrugging. 

Dinner that night was quiet, the mood grim. I got into my tent, changing into a pair of sweats and a sports bra. I got inside of my sleeping back, laying on my back. Playing with a strand of my hair, I closed my eyes. I sent a silent prayer that my friends would return safe and sound when we woke up tomorrow. I know it seemed useless, but I prayed that something would work. 

In today's times, luxury wasn't a given. We slept in tents, on bed rolls, and sleeping bags. Long gone were pajamas because we were all too afraid of what might happen over the night. I usually slept in a pair of sweat pants and a sports bra with my shoes and a shirt just near me. My gun was next to me as was my bag. 

Sleep never came easily to me anymore either. I only manage to catch a few hours if I was lucky. In the morning, I woke up, stretching out the kinks in my back. We only had berries for breakfast that were rationed out to everybody. Jim was hanging cans around the perimeter so we could the walkers when they got closer. Everything seemed so normal. Morales's kinds were acting up, causing their mom to try and get a handle of them, Lori was giving Carl a haircut, and I was reading the next couple of chapters on the book I was reading. 

"Baby, the more you fidget, the longer it takes. So don't, okay?" Lori told my nephew. 

"I'm trying," Carl whined, wanting to go play. 

"Well, try harder." 

"If you think this is bad, wait till you start shaving. That sings. That day comes, you'l be wishing for one of your mama's haircuts," Shane told him. 

"I'll believe that when I see it," Carl grumbled, causing me to snort. 

"Ouch...Good job, Carl," I said, high-fiving the younger boy. 

"I'll tell you what…you just get through this with some manly dignity and tomorrow I'll teach you something special. I will teach you to catch frogs."

Carl rolled his eyes. "I've caught a frog before. Aunt Paisley taught me."

"I said frogs… plural. And it is an art, my friend. It is not to be taken lightly. There are ways and means. Few people know about it. I'm willing to share my secrets."

Carl looked at Lori, unsure of what to say. "Oh, I'm a girl. You talk to him."

"It's a one-time offer, bud... not to be repeated."

"Why do we need frogs, plural?" Carl asked.

"You ever eat frog legs?"

"Eww!"

"No, yum!"

Lori had a look of disgust on her face. "No, he's right. Eww."

"When you get down to that last can of beans, you're gonna be loving those frog legs, lady. I can see it now… 'Shane, do you think I could have a second helping, please? Please? Just one?'"

I doubled over laughing, as Lori rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I doubt that."

Shane chuckled. "Don't listen to her, man. You and me, we'll be heroes. We'll feed these folks cajun-style Kermit legs."

"I would rather eat Miss Piggy. Yes, that came out wrong."

"Me too," I admitted as Shane laughed. "But Shane's right. They're not that bad. Tastes like chicken."

"Heroes, son, spoken of in song and legend. You and me, Shane and Carl. Carl and Shane."

My laughter and Shane's was cut off by a car alarm. "What the fuck?" I asked, standing up. 

"Talk to me, Dale!" Shane called out, rushing over to where Dale was. 

"I can't tell yet." Dale was standing on top of his RV, with binoculars in hand. 

"Whatever that is, it's going to attract attention," I called out, my hand on the knife at my hip.

"Is it them? Are they back?" Amy asked, rushing towards us. 

"I'll be damned," Dale chuckled, grinning.

"What is it?" 

"A stolen car is my guess."

I shook my head as the red sport's car pulled up, and Glenn got out. "Glenn, you idiot!" I shouted over the noise.

"Holy crap. Turn that damn thing off!" Dale shouted.

"I don't know how!" Glenn shouted.

Shane went around to the front of the car. "Pop the hood, please. Pop the damn hood, please."

"My sister Andrea…" Amy asked over the commotion. 

"Pop the damn hood!" 

"What? Okay, okay. Yeah yeah yeah. Yeah yeah!" Glenn shouted. 

"Is she okay? Is she all right?" Amy asked. 

Glenn was able to pop the hood, so Shane could disconnect the battery to turn the alarm off.   
"She's okay! She's okay!"

"Is she coming back?" 

"Yes!"

"Why isn't she with you? Where is she? She's okay?"

"Yes! Yeah, fine. Everybody is. Well, Merle not so much."

"Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here? Are you trying to draw every Walker for miles?" Shane asked, snapping at Glenn.

"I think we're okay," Dale said, easing Shane's anger. 

"You call being stupid okay?"

"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pinpoint the source. I'm not arguing. I'm just saying. It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it"

Glenn looked weary. "Sorry. Got a cool car." 

"You're just an idiot!" I told him, punching him in the shoulder. 

"Miss me?" Glenn teased. 

"Your snoring? No. But you? Defiantly." Glenn smiled as I gave him a big hug. Glenn picked me up, twirling me around. "Okay, you dummy! What happened? What took you guys so long?" I asked as I saw Amy and Andrea meet. 

"It's a long story-" 

"How'd y'all get out there anyway?" Shane asked. 

"New guy...he got us out."

"New guy?" Shane and I asked. 

"Yeah. Crazy Vato just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello! The guy's a cop like you," Glenn said. 

I saw Shane freeze, making me chuckle. "What?" I asked, turning around. "Oh my God..." I whispered. 

Carl, who was crying, noticed him as well. "Dad! Dad!" Carl shouted, running towards Rick, who caught him in a bone crushing hug. 

"Carl...Oh!" Rick cried, dripping to his knees to hug him. 

That's what it all took for me to rush over to him. "Rick!" I shouted, barreling into my brother as he stood up with Carl in his arms. Tears welled up in my eyes as I hugged him tightly. I pulled back, laughing as I wiped my eyes. Rick noticed Lori, and headed towards her. Lori was holding her breath, but when he got close enough, she broke down. I went over to them, and Lori pulled me into a massive Rick Grimes hug. I thought that I was at the top of the world. 


	3. Family is Always Forever

We were huddled around the fire, with Carl in Rick's lap, Lori on his left, and me on his right. "Disoriented. I guess that comes closet. Disorientated. Fear, confusion...all those things but...Disorientated comes closest," Rick explained. 

Dale nodded. "Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short." 

"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever." 

"Mom said you died," Carl asked. 

"She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it." 

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened," Lori explained. 

"I tried to push for you to be the first one out of there...It was my day off of work. Otherwise I might be something much worst." 

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell," Rick sighed. 

"Yeah."

"And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun. Thank goodness, you weren't there," Rick said, looking at me and squeezing my hand. 

"Yeah, looks don't deceive. I barely got them out, you know?" Shane said, looking at his old partner. 

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't begin to express it."

Dale let out a chuckle. "There go those words falling short again. Paltry things."

We were enjoying Rick's company eating what very little we had. Nearby, Ed puts another log on his fire. "Hey, Ed, you want to rethink that log?" Shane called out, looking at their small fire. 

"It's cold, man."

"The cold don't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"

"I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once."

Shane got up and walked over to Ed's fire. "Hey, Ed… Are you sure you want to have this conversation, man?"

I stood up and brushed off my jeans, going over to where Carol and Sophia was. "Shane..." I whispered. 

"Go on. Pull the damn thing out. Go on!" Ed challenged. 

God blessed poor Carol who pulled the log out of the fire. "Christ," Shane sighed, stomping the flames out. "Hey, Carol, Sophia, how are y'all this evening?"

Carol forced out a smile."Fine. We're just fine."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry about the fire."

"No, no, no. No apology needed. Y'all have a good night, okay?"

"Thank you."

Shane nodded his head. "I appreciate the cooperation. Come on, Paisley."

"God, I can't stand him..." I whispered as we headed back to our group.

"I know..."

"You should've seen the cut on Carol's eye earlier. Shane, we gotta do something."

"I will. Just...let me know if you see something, okay?"

We sat back down around our own small fire, me sitting between Glenn and Rick, while Shane sat in his original spot. "Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?"Dale asked. "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me," T-Dog volunteered. 

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine," Rick said. 

"Guys, it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy," Glenn offered.

"I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from him," T-Dog said.

"We could lie," Amy suggested.

"Or tell the truth. Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed. Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's," Andrea voiced. 

"And that's what we tell Daryl? I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise…We're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt." 

"Whatever we tell him, he's going to be super pissed. I know what it's like to feel like I left behind family. I can't stand them, but he deserves the truth." 

"I was scared and I ran. I'm not ashamed of it," T-Dog admitted.

"We were all scared. We all ran. What's your point?" Andrea asked.

"I stopped long enough to chain that door. Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that… Not that chain, not that padlock. My point… Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us."

Slowly, many of of our group made our way to our separate tent. "I can't believe you're here," I said to Rick when it was just us to left. 

"I can't believe that you three are all together. Or that you and Lori are actually getting along."

"It's been a long five weeks. Petty arguments are useless during the end-times." 

"So, what's the deal around here?"

"We work together...I'm basically the medic. Glenn's really good at supply runs. We all have a place. You just need to find yours."

"What about Daryl Dixon. What's his story?" I let out a bitter laugh. "So, no love lost between you two?"

"What can I say?" I said, getting up from the spot on my log. Rick followed me, both of us heading to Lori and Carl's tent. "The night that he and Merle joined the group, they were being loud and obnoxious. You're lucky to get a couple of hours of sleep without worrying about walkers coming after us. I poliety went over to their tent and asked them to keep it down. Daryl suggested that I can come into his tent with him and we can be so much louder. Well, I woke the whole camp with my cursing. After that, he's made his point to bother me every single day of my existence. He calls me many names. Prude, shallow, Princess...He bothers me." 

"What do you think he will do when he comes back?"

"I don't know. Daryl Dixon is a dangerous man. We live in a dangerous world now, Rick. Which is why I keep Kimberly under my bed."

Rick smiled. "You still have it?"

"Excuse me...It's a 'she'. And of course I still have her, you gave her to me for my birthday. Shane made sure I grabbed her when we left." We arrived at Lori's tent, which I smiled. "This is Carl and Lori's. We sleep in pairs. I'm over there with Glenn." Rick scowled at that. "Stop...I can handle myself."

"You're my little sister. I'm supposed to worry about you and boys."

"Exactly. I've handled it, Glenn knows to keep his boundaries. Go be with your wife and son...I'll see you in the morning."

I kissed his cheek, moving to my own tent. "Rhee...You better not keep me up all night." 

Glenn smirked, taking off his jeans to get in his old sleeping bag. "How weird is it that the guy I saved from a tank was your brother?" 

"Weird...and crazy. I can't believe that he's alive."

"You really thought that he was dead?"

"Yeah...I saw how bad the city was when we were leaving. We made sure to stop at every drug store and pharmacy on the way out. Go to sleep, Rhee." 

I rolled over, burying myself in my sleeping bag, playing with a strand of my hair as I slowly fell asleep. I woke up when the sun was just creeping around the corner. I made my way to the small river, quickly washing myself off and changing into clean clothes. I headed back towards the camp, seeing Rick come out in a pair of borrowed jeans and a white tank top. I stopped, pinching my arm. "For a second, I thought that when I woke up, you would be gone." 

"Me too," Rick chuckled, hugging me. "Morning," he said to a passing man.

"Morning," the man greeted back.

"Hey."

A woman smiled. "Hi."

Carol came around to us. "Morning."

"Morning," Rick greeted. 

"Hey, Carol," I smiled.

"They're still a little damp. The sun'll have 'em dry in no time," Carol said, handing Rick his police uniform. 

"You washed my clothes?" Rick asked. 

"Well, best we could. Scrubbing on a washboard ain't half as good as my old Maytag back home."

"That's very kind. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Paisley, those strips are ready for you."

I grabbed my brown leather satchel as Rick watched the car that Glenn drove back get stripped for parts. "Do you know where Lori is?" Rick asked. 

"Yeah...I got to go that way. Come on..." I said, leading him near the stream.   
  
"Morning, officer," Lori teased, hanging clothes up on a line. 

"Hey," Rick greeted. 

I left them to do their couple thing while I grabbed the strips of cloth, rolling them up into neat rolls. After each role, I placed them inside of a plastic baggie that would keep the bandages clean. I got halfway through the many strips when we all heard screaming. "The fuck?" I asked, grabbing my knife as I raced off. "Sophia! Carl!" I called out, pulling my nephew out of harms way.

"It's over there!" a man called out. 

"Dad! Aunt Paisley!" 

"Baby!" Lori cried out, grabbing Carl. 

I continued to race down the stream stopping when I came to a walker chowing down on a dear. "Jesus..." Andrea and Amy came up behind me, both of the winching at the disgusting scene. The walker spotted us, racing over to where we were. I sent out my foot, kicking it back. Rick, Shane, Glenn, Jim, and Morales started to beat it with various weapons they had gathered.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Men..." I scoffed as they used their brute force. Dale chopped its head off with an axe, shocked. "It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain."

"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what."

There was a branch snapping and footsteps in the near distance, causing us to wait. Then walked out the guy that I couldn't stand. Daryl Dixon came out of the forest. "Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this… filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!"

I rolled my eyes as he kicked the carcass of the walker. "Calm down, son. That's not helping," Dale said.

"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'on golden pond'?"

"Why are you such as jackass?" I asked.

"Because, Princess...I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison." Daryl and I were standing toe-to-toe, neither of wanting to submit to the other. Finally he backed up, kneeling down to the level of the deer. "What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?"

"I would not risk that," I said. "But, please...go ahead. I hope you chock on it." 

"Oh god," Amy cried out.

"Come on, people. What the hell?" I rolled my eyes as he shot it with one of his arrows. "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" I rolled my eyes, walking back up to the camp with Rick."Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up."

"Now is as good as a time than any," I whispered to Shane and Rick, passing them. "Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About Merle. There was a…There was a problem in Atlanta."

Daryl halted in his footsteps, whirling around. "He dead?"

"We're not sure." 

"He either is or he ain't!"

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," Rick told him. 

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes."

I saw Daryl turned towards me, recongization hitting him. We had the same shade of brown hair and the same color of hazel eyes. I never said that Daryl was stupid..."Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."

"Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!"

"Yeah."

"Hey-Rick!" I shouted seeing Daryl going to attack. Rick shoved him off, causing T-Dog and Shane to rush over.

"Hey! Watch the knife!" T-Dog shouted.

Daryl pulled his knife out, and was about to charge at Rick. I raced forward, sending a kick to knock the knife from his hands. Shane was able to come up behind him and put him in a chokehold. "Okay. Okay."

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl shouted. 

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't."

"Choke hold's illegal."

"You can file a complaint." I rolled my eyes as Daryl struggled. "Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?" Rick asked. When Daryl didn't answer, he repeated the question. "Do you think we can manage that?"

"Hmm?" Shane questioned. 

"Mmm," Daryl grunted. "Yeah."

"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it."

"You couldn't pick it up?" 

"Well, I dropped it in a drain."

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof… So the geeks couldn't get at him… With a padlock. It's gotta count for something."

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him."

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori asked. 

Then Rick said something that changed everything. "I'm going back."

Back at camp, I could see Lori sulking about Rick leaving once again, Shane pissed that they were going, and Daryl getting ready to go. "Fuck..." I sighed to myself, grabbing my brown satchel from my tent. I packed a couple of bandages, my book, extra bullets, and a clean pair of clothes for an emergency. I holstered Kimberly, placing her at my hip as I grabbed my knife, strapping her to my hip as well. I headed out of my tent, seeing Glenn upset, and T-Dog volunteering. 

"Four," T-Dog told them. 

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?" Daryl grumbled. 

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?"

"Why you?"

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language."

"That's four"

"Four men and one woman," I said, coming over to the group. "I'm going."

"No...Absoultely not!" Shane protested, glaring daggers at me. "It's not just four. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that Walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp. And we need our medic!"

"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns."

Glenn nodded eagerly. "Right, the guns."

Shane faltered. "Wait. What guns?"

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up."

"Ammo? Rick: 700 rounds, assorted."

"I'm still in...Knowing Merle, he might do something stupid," I said, turning around and heading for the truck.

"Are you really leaving, Aunt Paisley?" Carl asked, tugging on my jacket. 

Smiling, I bent down, hugging him. "Hey...I'll be back as soon as I can. Between you and me...those guys need a woman to tell them what to do. Remember this when you get older, Carl. Girls need to be respected. We're smarter and tougher. Got it?"

Carl smiled. "I got it, Aunt Paisley."

Kissing the top of his head, I headed towards the truck where Daryl waiting. "Dixon..."

"Princess." 

"Be careful," Shane told me, patting my back. 

"I got my girls. I'll see you soon."

"Come on..." Glenn grumble, getting into the passenger seat.

I got in and settled in, opening up my book. I pulled out my old MP3 player, turning on some classic rock as I killed time. I could feel Dixon's eyes on me, which bothered me. "What?" I asked, taking out one earbud. 

"That kick sure did hurt, Princess. Who taught you how to do that?"

"Kickboxing classes. Plus, Shane and Rick. Mostly the classes." 

"What a Bad-ass Princess, huh?" T-Dog joked. 

"Don't call me Princess," I hissed. "Hey, Glenn? We close?"

"Yeah..." he called out. 

"Good," I sighed, taking out Kimberly to polish her with my shirt. 

"That is some gun..." T-Dog whistled. 

"Thank you...Rick got her for me when I was 18. Her name is Kimberly." Daryl snorted. "Problem, Dixon?"

"Just a stupid name for a gun, is all," Daryl teased. 

"Your face is stupid."

"Real mature, Princess."

"You know what? I hope Merle is having a real swell time on top of that rooftop. Maybe we should get you a matching pair of cuffs. Make it a family affair." Game, set, match. Daryl glared daggers at me as I went back to my gun. Putting her back in her holster, I stood as the truck came to a stop. I jumped down, swinging my bag around my body.

"He'd better be okay," Daryl grunted.

"It's my only word on the matter. I told you the geeks can't get at him. The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us," T-Dog explained. 

"We walk from here," Glenn informed us. We were on the outside of the city. We began our trek, following the railroad into the city. 

"Merle first or guns?" Rick asked.

Daryl stopped, whirling around. "Merle! We ain't even having this conversation."

"We are," Rick told him, turning to Glenn. "You know the geography. It's your call."

Glenn swallowed. "Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first."

"Good call, Rhee," I told my friend, looking around.   
  
"You'll protect me from him, right?" Glenn asked, looking at Daryl's leather vest. 

"Dixon? I can take him. God...this is depressing," I sighed, looking at the fallen city of Atlanta. 

"Did you come here before everything?"

"Yeah...there was a club that a couple of friends and I went to during nursing school. It was a good way to release some stress."

"Did you like to dance?"

"Hell, yeah...Better than those stuffy dances my mom made me too." 

"Don't tell me that you were a debutant?!" Glenn gasped. 

"Yes...yes, I was. Since the time I was thirteen until 18. God, it was awful."

"I thought your parents died. Why did you keep doing it?"

"Because I thought that it would make them happy," I sighed, stopping at the building. 

"We're here," Glenn said. 

"Okay...let's do this quietly," Rick said, whispering. We made our way inside, holding our breaths. 

In the building, the group finds a Walker in the department store. Inside, there was one female walker. "Damn. You are one ugly skank," Daryl commented, taking his crossbow out and shooting it through the head. I walked past him, and headed for the stairs. The closer to the roof, the quicker our footsteps became. Soon, we were racing to the padlocked door. Once there, Daryl quickly cut it off with wire trimmers. "Merle! Merle!" 

That's when I noticed it right as Daryl did. "Oh God..." I gasped as Daryl broke down. 

Daryl Dixon. The man that I couldn't stand. Probably one of the most toughest person I ever met was crying. Something about his sobs made me feeling. Daryl Dixon was human. He had genuine feelings. He wasn't blocking everybody out. Those walls around him were starting to give in. "No! No! No!" There, on top of roof was a bloodied saw, the empty handcuff, and Merle Dixon's hand. "No! No!" 


	4. The Rescue Mission

It was awful standing there watching Daryl sob. No one did or said anything, but just let Daryl have his moment. But then, he suddenly turned his crossbow onto T-Dog. Rick and I both must have sensed his intent to kill, causing Rick and me to pull out our guns to train them on him. "Don't do something stupid, Dixon," I warned.

"I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears it," Rick warned as well. That made me glance down seeing a couple of walkers down there, and God knows how many inside of this building.

My brother was probably one of most honest person I knew. I cocked an eyebrow at Daryl as he realized that he was being very honest, lowering the crossbow. "You got a do-rag or something?" Daryl asked.

T-Dog handed Daryl one from his pocket, who used it to pick the already decaying severed hand. "Well that's gonna smell lovely," I sighed, watching Daryl stuff it in Glenn's backpack. "I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs. Ain't that a bitch. He must have used a tourniquet… maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't." Daryl noticed a blood trail, and started to follow it. We followed Daryl, hoping that it would lead to Merle. T-Dog stopped to grab some tools, then continued to follow the group. "Merle? You in here? The group walks down the stairs." The blood trail continued, leading us to an office. Daryl shot a walker with an arrow as we walked in. Inside, we found no Merle, but two dead walkers. "Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches. One handed. Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."   
  
"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is," I said. "He cut off his own hand...not very sanitary. Even though he used a tourniquet, it would still bleed because of the radial artery."

"How long?" Daryl grunted. 

"I don't know...If's he tough...and I'm not saying that he's not...it could be minutes to hours...who knows." 

That sent Daryl into a frenzy. "Merle!" 

"We're not alone here. Remember?"

Daryl scowled at Rick, turning back to him. "Screw that. He could be bleeding out. You said so yourself." That comment was directed to me, his baby blues staring straight into me. We came upon a kitchen, where a stove was still lighted. I ran my hand over it, feeling that it was still hot. I picked up the belt, seeing the blood still damp on it. "What's that burned stuff?"

I turned off the stove, inspecting the chared substance. "Skin," I answered. "Oh God...He cauterized the stump."

Daryl smirked at me. "Told you he was tough. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."

"Don't take that on faith. He's still lost a lot of blood."

"Yeah? Didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap."

"He left the building? Why the hell would he do that?" Glenn asked as we moved on. We stopped when it came to a smashed window, realizing that Mere wasn't here. 

"Why wouldn't he? He's out there alone as far as he knows, doing what he's got to do. Surviving."

"You call that surviving? Just wandering out in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?" T-Dog asked. 

"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks," Daryl growled. "You couldn't kill him. Ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard."

"What about 1,000 dead dumb bastards? Different story?" Rick questioned. 

"Why don't you take a tally? Do what you want. I'm gonna go get him."

I sighed. Goodbye, Dixon. Good riddance. But my brother had different ideas. "Daryl, wait."

"Get your hands off me! You can't stop me."

"I don't blame you. He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel. He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head."

"I could do that," Daryl said in quieter voice. 

"Only if we get those guns first. I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my intentions, okay?" T-Dog voiced. 

"Well gentlemen, if anybody has any ideas, please speak now," I sighed. 

Nobody said anything, until Glenn spoke up. "I might have an idea," Glenn said, kneeling on the ground, building a model on the ground. 

Five minutes later, Glenn began to explain his plan, much to Daryl's dismay. "This isn't going to work. It'll be just easier to go on alone." 

"You're not doing this alone," Rick argued, causing Darly to scowl. 

"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much."

"It's a good idea, okay, if you just hear me out. If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast." Glenn had drawn a map of the street on the ground, marking the bag of guns and the tank. "Look. That's the tank, five blocks from where we are now. That's the bag of guns. Here's the alley I dragged you into when we first met. That's where Daryl, Paisley, and I will go."

"Why me? Why her?" Daryl and I both asked.

"Your crossbow is quieter than his gun. While Daryl waits here in the alley, I run up the street, grab the bag. Paisley is as quick as me and she can kick some ass." 

"Damn straight," I smiled. 

"You got us elsewhere?" Rick asked. 

Glenn pointed down the street. "You and T-Dog, right. You'll be in this alley here."

Rick furrowed his eyebrows. "Two blocks away? Why?"

"I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut me off. If that happens, I won't go back to Daryl or Paise. I'll go forward instead, all the way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me. Afterwards, we'll all meet back here."

Daryl looked mildly impressed. "Hey, kid, what'd you do before all this?"

"Delivered pizzas. Why?"

We broke up, with Glenn, Daryl, and myself crawling down the ladder to run down the alley. Rick and T-Dog headed down the other alley. Daryl loaded the crossbow, and I pulled my long hair into a tighter pony tail. "You got some balls for a Chinaman."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "He's Korean."

"Damn straight."

Glenn and I bumped knuckles and he raced down the street. Daryl and I waited in silence behind a trashcan. "Daryl..." I whispered, noticing a young Mexican descenent came down our alleyway.

Daryl nodded at me and jumped out, pointing his crossbow at his man.

"Whoa, don't shoot me! What do you want?" he asked. 

"I'm looking for my brother. He's hurt real bad. You seen him?"

"Ayúdame!" the young man shouted. 

"Shut up! You're gonna bring the geeks down on us. Answer me."

"Daryl..." I hissed, recognizing the man yelling out the for help.

"Answer me," Daryl growled.

"Ayúdame! Ayúdame! Ayúdame! Help! Help!"

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up."

Suddenly, two other Mexicans came down the alley, rushing at Daryl. They began to pound up on him.

"Hey! Stop! Leave him alone!" I shouted, going over to try and shove the men off.

"That's it. That's the bag, Vato. Take it! Take it!"

I raced towards Glenn as did the man, Felipe. I kicked him in the family jewels, but was hailed backwards by somebody. "Let go of me! Let go!" I shouted, kicking my legs. I brought my head back, headbuttign hte man. A hand went over my mouth, and I bit it. "Daryl! DARYL! GLENN!" 

Glenn rushed over to help me, but was taken also. "Get off me! Get off me! Daryl! Daryl!"

"NO!" I screamed as a car pulled up. "DARYL!"

"Come back here, you sumbitches!" I heard Daryl shout as we were pushed into the car. I looked at Glenn. We were in deep shit now.

* * *

"Paisley!" Daryl shouted, trying to rush towards the moving car. Stopping, he closed the gate before Walkers could get him. He stalked towards the man that was left behind and who he had shot with an arrow. 

"Whoa whoa whoa. Stop it," Rick told him, pushing him back. 

"I'm gonna kick your nuts up in your throat!" Daryl growled.

"Let me go," the man begged as Daryl punched him. 

"Chill out," T-Dog said, grabbing Daryl and pulling him back. 

"They took Glenn and Paisley. That little bastard and his little bastard homie friends. I'm gonna stomp your ass!"

T-Dog realized something. "Guys! Guys! We're cut off!"

"Get to the lab. Go," Rick ordered. 

"Come on. Damn, let's go," Daryl grunted, pushing the man towards the lab.

Once safe inside, Rick turned on the man. "Those men you were with, we need to know where they went." 

The man shook his head. "I ain't telling you nothing."

T-Dog turned towards Daryl. "Jesus,man. What the hell happened back there?" 

"I told you, this little turd and his douche bag friends came out of nowhere and jumped me." 

"You're the one who jumped me, puto, screaming about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault," the other man said.

"They took Glenn and Paisley. Could have taken Merle too."

"Merle? What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle." 

Daryl went to kick at man, but Rick held him back. "Damn it,Daryl. Back off." 

Daryl was at his wit's end. He pulled out the Merle's hand, and waved it in the Mexican's face. "Want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" The kid panicked and began to back away. "Start with the feet this time." 

Rick held Daryl back. "The men you were with took our friend. That girl...She's my sister. All we want to do is talk to them, see if we can work something out." The man agreed, taking them to their hideout. "You sure you're up for this?" Rick asked. 

T-Dog nodded. "Yeah." 

Rick nodded. "Okay."

Daryl shoved the man forwards. "One wrong move, you get an arrow in the ass. Just so you know." 

"G's gonna take that arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know," the man spat. 

"G?" Rick asked, confused. 

"Guillermo. He's the man here." 

"Okay then. Let's go see Guillermo." 

They walked up to the building and the doors opened up. Guillermo walked out. "You okay, little man?"

"They're gonna cut off my feet, _carnal_." 

"Cops do that?" 

"Not him. This redneck _puto_ here. He cut off some dude's hand, man. He showed it to me." 

"Shut up," Daryl growled. 

The man that Paisley bit, Felipe, came out and pointed a gun at Dary. "Hey, that's that _Vato_ right there, homes. He shot me in the ass with an arrow. What's up, homes, huh?" 

"Chill, _ese_ , chill. Chill. This true? He wants Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick, man." 

"We were hoping more for a calm discussion," Rick told the man. 

"That hillbilly jumps Felipe's little cousin, beats on him, threatens to cut off his feet, Felipe gets an arrow in the ass and you want a calm discussion? You fascinate me," Guillermo smirked. 

"Heat of the moment. Mistakes were made on both sides." 

"Who's that dude to you anyway? You don't look related. And the girl?"

"The girl is my sister. The other...He's one of our group, more or less. I'm sure you have a few like him." 

Daryl called out. "You got my brother in there?" 

Guillermo smirked. "Sorry, we're fresh out of white boys. But I've got Asian and a pretty girl. You interested?" 

"I have one of yours, you have one of mine and my family. Sounds like an even trade." 

"Don't sound even to me." 

"G. Come on, man." 

"My people got attacked. Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?" 

Rick froze. "Guns?" 

"The bag Miguel saw in the street. The bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag of guns." 

Rick shook his head. "You're mistaken." 

Guillermo glared down at him. "I don't think so." 

"About It being yours. It's my bag of guns." 

"The bag was in the street. Anybody could come around and say it was theirs. I'm supposed to take your word? What's to stop my people from unloading on you right here and now and I take what's mine?" 

"You could do that. Or not." Rick nodded his head to the wall, where T-Dog was set up with a sniper rifle that was pointed at Guillermo. 

"Come on, man. Make the trade. Please," T-Dog told them. 

"Oye," Guillermo shouted. Two men appeared with Glenn and Paisley. Glenn rushed at them as the dragged Paisley to the edge, tossing her over the wall. She screamed through her gag, and would've fallen not if Guillermo held her bounded wrists. "I see two options. You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks. Or you come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood." Paisley was pulled up, and the retreated back inside. 

* * *

I was not happy. "Bastards!" I shouted, slapping one of them men once we were inside. "My brother won't stop! He fought like hell to get back to our family!" 

"Calm down, puta...No one wants bloodshed. We just want the guns." 

I glared at him as he led Glenn and I inside. "Oh my god..." It was a nursing home. Full of elderly people. "You're just trying to protect your people."

"Si..."

"Hola," an elderly woman told me. 

"Hola," I greeted, smiling back. 

We waited around, and I realized that they were just like us. Struggling to survive in this cruel world. "So, who are you really?" 

Feliepe had a gun in his hands. "I was a nurse...I worked here, taking care of my grandmother. G was a custodian."

I smiled. "I was a nurse at Atlanta General. I worked in the clinic, and sometimes floated to the ICU." 

Felipe and G went out to deal with my brother and our group while we stayed in. 

"Hey, Paise! I think this man needs help!" Glenn shouted. 

"Hola...Are you alright?" I asked in Spanish. 

"No...My chest..." the man wheezed. 

I turned to the woman. "Do you have a stethoscope I can borrow?" 

The woman nodded, and rushed to get me one. "How do you know Spanish?" Glenn asked. 

"College...Thank you." I placed the ear buds in my ears, and placed the diagraphm against the man's chest. I could easily hear the bilateral wheezes. "What's his history. COPD? Asthma?"

"Si...Asthma." 

"Does he have an inhaler?" I asked, putting the stethoscope around my neck. "Glenn, help me lean him forward so he can get more air in his lungs. "I need some oxygen." A tank was rolled over to me, and I placed the oxygen around his nose. "Nice deep breaths. Where's that inhaler?!" 

An inhaler was placed in my hands. I uncapped it, and paced it in the man's lips. "All right. All right. Nice and easy. Just breathe. Just breathe. Just let it out. Just breathe." 

"What the hell is this?"

I turned to see Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog standing behind us. "An asthma attack. Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden. Paisley owned the room, though."

"I thought you both were being eaten by dogs, man," T-Dog told Glenn. 

"Those dogs?" I asked, seeing the two tiny Chihuahuas. 

"Could I have a word with you?" Rick asked Guillmero. After negotiations, Rick divided the guns 50/50. I handed back the stethscope, having lost mine when we fled our home. 

"Keep it," Felipe told me. 

I smiled, and placed it back around my neck. "Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat," Glenn teased as my brother put on his trademark Sheriff's hat. 

Rick smiled. "Don't tell anybody." 

"You've given away half our guns and ammo," Daryl grumbled. 

"Not nearly half." 

"For what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got?" 

"How long do any of us?"

"Um..." I said, not seeing our truck. 

"Oh my god," Glenn gasped. 

"Where the hell's our van?" Daryl asked. 

"We left it right here. Who would take it?" 

Rick had an idea. "Merle." 

"He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp."

"Oh god...Carl. Lori," I gasped. 

We raced off, and I could hear gunshots near our camp. "Oh my god," Rick panted. 

"Go! Go!" Glenn shouted. 

We arrived, and I grabbed my shotgun, shooting a couple of Walkers. Once they were taken care of, we stood in horror at the dead bodies. Some were our group, including Amy. "Oh no..." I panted. 


	5. Haven

"This is crazy," Glenn sighed as I prepared the bodies for burial. 

"The fact crazy is that I'm a nurse playing a mortician, or we're even in this position," I asked, stabbing our lost ones in the brains with my knife. 

"Both, I guess. How's Andrea doing?"

"Not good. She won't let anybody come near Amy. Not even me."

Morales and Daryl carried a body over towards the fire. "Thanks. Thanks."

" What are you guys doing? This is for geeks. Our people go over there."

"What's the difference? They're all infected."

"Our people go in that row over there. We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand?" Glenn asked, staring Daryl down. "Our people go in that row over there." 

Daryl met my eyes and nodded. He and Morales dragged the body over towards the other pile. "A walker got him. A walker bit Jim!" Jacqui shouted out. 

All the guys crowded around him, worried. I put placed my knife in the sheath, and walked over. "I'm okay. I'm okay."

Daryl was gunning at him. "Show it to us. Show it to us."

"Easy, Jim," Shane said, holding out a hand. 

"Grab him," Daryl shouted.

Jim took the shovel from the floor to use as a weapon. "Jim, put it down. Put it down."

T-Dog caught Him back and held him. "I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay," Jim chanted. But the bite mark on Jim's side revealed he that was not okay. "I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay."

* * *

I sighed as I listened to his blood pressure, his heart and lungs, and took his temperature with the back of my hand. I cleaned the bite mark the best I could, but everybody knew it was just a matter of time. "THey're going to kill me," Jim said as I put my stethoscope in my bag along with my blood pressure cuff. 

"Nonsense...You're one of us." 

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it," Daryl grunted as I came over. 

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked. 

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."

Dale shuffled his feet. "I hate to say it… I never thought I would… but maybe Daryl's right."

"What?! No...Jim's not a monster, Dale...Or a rabid dog. He's still a human," I argued.

"I'm not suggesting..."

I shook my head. As a nurse, I took an oath to provide nonjudgemental and compassionate care for everybody. To do no harm. I sure wasn't about to let Jim get murdered. "He's sick. A sick man."

Rick nodded. "I agree with Paisley. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be," Daryl said. 

"What if we can get him help?" Rick suggested. "I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure."

Shane nodded. "I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell."

"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?"

"Man, that is a stretch right there."

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection..."

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning."

"That's 100 miles in the opposite direction," Lori protested. 

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance."

"You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" Daryl already had his pickaxe, and tried to take a swing.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I shouted, grabbing my gun. 

Rick had his gun at Daryl's head. "We don't kill the living."

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head," Daryl growled, obviously annoyed. 

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on," Shane told him. 

I let out a breath as he did as he was told, and walked away. Rick was leading Jim to a safe place and I followed. The safe place was Dale's RV, where I set up a makeshift pallet for him. "You're burning up," I told Jim, stripping him out of work shirt, and placing cool cloths on him. 

"Oh no. No no no no. No, not this, please. No no no. Oh, no no no. No no." 

"Shh..." I told Jim, making him as comfortable as possible.

"Hey, Paisley," Carol greeted, me coming in. 

I smiled. "Hey, Carol. I'm sorry about-"

"Don't be. He...He deserved it," she said, sighing. I smiled softly, and went back to Jim. "How's he doing?"

I sighed heavily. "Not good. He's burning up, hallucinating, his pulse is racing." 

"Need a break?" she asked. 

"Yes, actually," I nodded. 

Rick and Lori came in, and I turned towards my brother. "His fever is worse."

Rick nodded. "You need anything?" Lori asked, Jim. 

"Uh… Water. Could use more water."

"I'll get some," Lori volunteered. 

"Okay."

"Carol, you help me?"

Lori and Carol left, and Rick sat next to Jim. "You save a grave for me?"

Rick shook his head. "Nobody wants that."

"It's not about what you want. That, uh… that sound you hear, that's God laughing while you make plans."

"What I want, Jim, if… if God allows, is to get you some help."

Jim groaned and began to spit. I helped him turn over so he wouldn't choke. "Watch the mangroves. Their roots will gouge the whole boat. You know that, right? Amy is there swimming. You'll watch the boat, right? You said you would."

Rick looked at me. "I'll watch the boat. Don't worry."

"Okay."

Rick nodded his head, and I followed him. "What are we looking at here?" 

"I don't know, Rick. Nobody knows. I guess it's a fever...I don't know if it's a virus or a bacteria. Which is why we should go to the CDC." 

I walked outside, and pulled my hair up in a ponytail. "Hey...Where's my brother and Shane?" I asked Glenn.

"I think they went out to do a sweep."

Just as he said that, the they both came back with Dale. "I've been, uh… I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no… There are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning."

"Okay?" Rick nodded. 

Preparations where made the previous night and in the morning, everybody was getting ready. "Come on, Rick!" I protested, seeing his car was full. 

"Sorry," Rick smiled. "I think Daryl has room. We just assumed that you'll be riding in the RV to take care of Jim. Being a nurse and all."

"All I can do is make him comfortable. He's as comfortable as he's going to get. I can keep feeding him ice chips and moping his forehead. But the truth is that we're going to need a cure." 

I grabbed my bag and tossed it into Daryl's truck. "Going somewhere, Princess?" he smirked. 

"Just...Shut up," I sighed. "It's the only car with room, okay? So, take me or I'll ride in the bed with your bike." 

"Everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

Morales and his wife, Miranda, stepped up. "We're, uh… We're… we're not going."

Miranda smiled sadly. "We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people."

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane reminded them. 

Morales nodded, understanding. "We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family."

"You sure?" Rick asked. 

"We talked about it. We're sure."

"All right," Rick agreed. "Shane..." 

"Yeah, all right."

"357?"

"Yeah." Rick handed Marales a gun and Shane handed him ammo. "The box is half full."

"Thank you all… For everything." It was an emotional goodbye, as we all hugged (minus Daryl). Once they were gone, we went to our cars. I got into Daryl's truck, and he sat in the driver's seat. Then we were off. 

I put my headphones in, and I pressed play on my IPod. I try to save as much battery as I can, but this would save the need for awkward small talk. I pulled out one of my books, and relaxed as we drove to the unknown. 

We were about halfway there, when Daryl stopped the truck. "What's going on?" I asked, taking out the ear buds from my ears.

"I don't know...Come on," Daryl said, hoping out. 

I followed him towards the RV, seeing the front smoking. "I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from the cube van," Dale grumbled.

"Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asked. 

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape."

Shane grabbed his binoculars and looked around us. "I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky."

"Y'all, Jim… It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore," Jaqui called out from the RV. 

Shane sighed. "Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back."

T-Dog nodded. "Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up."

"Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back." Shane and T-Dog got into Shane's car and drove off. I went into the RV with Rick, assessing Jim. Rick looked at me. I shook my head.

"We'll be back on the road soon," Rick told the dying man 

Jim moaned in pain. "Oh no. Christ… My bones… My bones are like glass. Every little bump… God, this ride is killing me. Leave me here. I'm done. Just leave me. I want to be with my family."

"They're all dead. I don't think you know what you're asking. The fever… You've been delirious more often than not."

"I know. Don't you think I know?" Jim asked, groaning. "I'm clear now. In five minutes I may not be. Rick, I know what I'm asking. I want this. Leave me here. Now that's on me. Okay? My decision. Not your failure."

Outside, I ran a hand through my hair. "It's what he says he wants," I shrugged. 

"And he's lucid?" Carol asked. 

"He seems to be. I would say yes," Rick nodded. 

"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer," Dale said. 

"We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that," Shane asked, having returned moments earlier with T-Dog.

"It's not your call, either one of you," I said, crossing my arms. "I've roated with Hospice, and all we can do in this situation is to make him comfortable. This is his best option."

Rick and Shane nodded, and went to retrieve Jim, carrying him out of the RV, and laying him against the tree. "Yeah. That's it."

Jim groaned as they set him down, then chuckled. "Hey, another damn tree."

"Hey, Jim… I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this," Shane said. 

"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice."

"Okay. All right."

We said our goodbyes to him and departed, leaving him there in his peace. But what we discovered was not what I was expecting. "Oh my god," I whispered, opening my door. Daryl grabbed his crossbow, easily loading an arrow. 

I stood behind Daryl as our group carefully made our way towards the building. I covered my nose, trying not to gag on the smell. "All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on. Stay quiet. Let's go. Okay, keep moving. Stay together," Shane whispered.

"Keep moving. Come on."

Someone stepped on something, making a noise. "Shh," Jaqui shushed. 

Lori looked around, grabbing Carol and Sophia. "Carol."

"Shh," Shane told them gently.

"Oh, God," Glenn moaned. 

"Glenn...shut the fuck up," I hissed, pushing him forwards. 

"Keep it together. Come on."

"We're almost there, baby. Almost there," Lori told Carl.

Shane got to the shuddered door. "Nothing?"

Shane pounded on the door. "There's nobody here."

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick asked. 

"Walkers!" Daryl called out. 

I turned to see several showing up. "Baby, come on," Lori said, grabbing Carl closer to her. 

Daryl shot a walker in the head. "You led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a call," Shane argued back. 

"It was the wrong damn call!"

"Just shut up. You hear? Shut up. Shut up! Rick, this is a dead end."

"Where are we gonna go?" Jacqui asked. 

"Do you hear me? No blame," Shane told my brother.

I went over to him, pulling on the back of his uniform. "Rick...We got to get out of here! Now!"

"She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark," Lori agreed. 

"Fort Benning, Rick… Still an option."

Andrea let out a bitter laugh. "On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles."

Glenn corrected her. "125. I checked the map."

"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now," Lori said. 

Rick nodded, defeated. "We'll think of something."

"Come on, let's go. Let's get out of here. Let's go. Please," Shane begged. But Rick didn't move, staring at the security camera. "All right, everybody back to the cars. Let's go. Move."

"The camera...it moved."

"You imagined it."

"It moved. It moved."

"Rick...It's dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on."

I went over to him. "Rick...Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick." 

Rick slammed on the shutters. "Rick, there's nobody here!:

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me," Rick called out. 

By this time, Carl and Sophie were both crying in fear and more walkers were upon us. I grunted, going over to stab one in the brain. "Everybody get back to the cars now!" Shane shouted, trying to get Rick away from the door with Lori. 

"Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left," Rick begged. 

"Rick. There's nobody here," Lori told him desperately.

"Rick!" I shouted, killing another walker. 

"We have nowhere else to go," Rick begged, pounding on the door. "Keep your eyes open. If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!"

"Rick...We have to go! Now!"

"Come on, buddy, let's go. Let's go," Shane told Carl.

Somebody grabbed my hand, tugging me back from my brother, but I held his shirt in a tight fist. "Rick! Please! Now!"

"Please help us. You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!"

The doors suddenly opened, and and we all stood there in shock. "Daryl, you cover the back." 

Our group walked in, and I realized that Daryl was the one who was holding my hand. We both looked at each other, and quickly seperated. "Hello? Hello?" 

"Close those doors. Watch for walkers," Dale said. 

The lobby was empty. But this wouldn't be a safe haven for us. 


	6. Experiments

"Where is everybody?" I asked as we entered the empty lobby. 

"I don't know," Rick whispered back. "Hello?"

A middle aged man appeared, standing in a doorway, rifle in his hands. "Anybody infected?" he asked. 

"One of our group was. He didn't make it," Rick explained 

"Why are you here? What do you want?" the doctor asked. 

"A chance." 

"That's asking an awful lot these days." 

"I know," Rick nodded. 

The doctor looked at us. "You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission." 

"We can do that," Rick agreed. 

The man lowered his gun. "You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes it stays closed."

We gathered our stuff, and ran through the doors, following the doctor into an elevator. "Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here." 

"Rick Grimes," Rick introduced. 

"Dr.Edwin Jenner." 

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked. 

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough." He smirked down at Carl. "Except you, I'll have to keep my eye on you." 

Carl smiled back, as we went down, and down, and down. We finally got out the elevator and followed Edwin. "Are we underground?" Carol asked. 

"Are you claustrophobic?" Edwin asked. 

"A little." 

"Try not to think about it," he smirked. 

We entered a large darkened space. "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room. Welcome to zone 5." 

"Where is everybody? The other doctors, the staff?" I asked, noticing it was strangely empty. 

"I'm it. It's just me here." 

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" Lori asked. 

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them...welcome." 

"Hello, guests. Welcome." 

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry."

We took turns getting our blood drawn. When it was my turn, I smiled and watched him chose my vein. "I have small veins, so if you have a butterfly needle, that would be better," I said. 

He smirked, and went to retrieve the needle. "Picky, huh?"

"I was a nurse...I guess I still am a nurse."

Once I was done, it was Andrea's. "What's the point? If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever," Andrea asked. 

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough. All done." 

Andrea stood up, and started to black out. Jacqui and I both both caught her. "Ooh." 

"Are you okay?" he asked. 

"Mmm," she moaned, righting herself. 

"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have," Jacqui admitted. 

"Well, I can fix that," Edwin said. 

His fix was pasta and wine. Everybody dug in. We were all like animals. The wine didn't help matters much. I laughed as I collapsed against Glenn. Carl looked at his mom hopefully. 

"Fine," she sighed. 

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France," Dale informed Lor.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then." 

Rick smirked. "What's it gonna hurt? Come on. Come on," 

"What?" Carl asked. 

Dale handed Carl a glass with a tiny bit of wine in it. "There you are, young lad." 

He took a drink, his face wrinkling up. "Eww." 

"That's my boy. That's my boy. Good boy," Lori smiled, pouring his wine into her glass. 

"Yuck. That tastes nasty!" 

Shane smiled. "Well, just stick to soda pop there, bud." 

"Not you, Glenn," Daryl called out, pouring more wine into Glenn's glass. 

"What?" 

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get. Aren't you eighteen, Princess?" 

I glared at him. "Fuck you. Just so you know, I'm 25. And back in the day, wine was my preferred alcohol of choice. And as well as vodka." 

Rick cleared his throat, standing up. "It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly." 

"He is more than just our host," T-Dog said, raising his glass. 

"Hear hear!" 

"Here's to you, Doc. Booyah!" Daryl shouted, holding a whole bottle of wine. 

"Booyah!" Dale agreed. 

"Wooo!" I cheered, lifting my wine glass.

"Thank you. Thank you, doctor," Rick smiled. 

"Booyah!" T-Dog shouted. 

"So, when are you gonna tell us what the Hell happened here, Doc? All the—the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?" Shane asked. 

"We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now," Rick told his best friend. 

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move—supposed to find all the answers. Instead we—" Shane chuckled, "we found him. Found one man, why?" 

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted." 

"Every last one?" I asked. 

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time," 

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea asked. 

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good." 

Glenn turned to Shane. "Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man." 

After dinner, we took our wine into the living part of the facility. "Most of the facility is powered down including housing so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies—if you shower, go easy on the hot water."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...Wait...Hot water?" I asked. 

"That's what the man said."

At the prospect of a hot water, we were running towards rooms. 

"No!" I shouted as me and Daryl went into the same room. "No fair! You're a guy! Where's Glenn?"

"I found him heading towards Shane. It's either with me, Princess or with Dale."

I headed in the room, and put my bag on one of the beds across the room. Daryl did the same as we stared at each other. I dug into my pocket, and found a coin. "Head's get's shower first. Call it..."

"Tails!" Daryl shouted. 

But it landed on heads. "Ha!" I shouted, stomping my feet in a happy dance. I headed towards the bathroom, and removed my shirt. The hot water felt fantastic! I came back in, dressed in a towel, seeing Daryl staring me. "See something you like, Dixon?"

"Depends..." He strutted up to me. "Besides...You wouldn't be able to handle it."

I scoffed, eyeing him. "Really?! You wouldn't be the one to handle it!" 

I walked over to him, and brushed my nose agianst his, like I was going to take a shower. "Go take a shower...You stink." 

I headed towards my bag, and grabbed a clean bra, tank top, and crawled into my bed. Daryl came out, only with a towel around his waist. "Do I smell better now, Princess?"

I scoffed. "Still not going to happen, Dixon."

"My thoughts exactly." I turned onto my belly and looked at the wall while he pulled on his boxers, and crawled into the bed. "So, why nursing?" 

I turned back towards him at his question. "I don't know...I just wanted to help people, and I didn't want to be a cop. I thought I could give back, and I really loved it." Daryl was silent. "So, why hunting?" 

He shrugged. "I don't know..."

 _Was it to escape home? I've seen the scars._ I didn't say that outloud. I smiled. "Good night, Daryl."

"Good night...Princess."

I turned over to face the wall, smiling as I closed my eyes. 

* * *

The next morning, I pulled on my jean shorts and boots, and slipped on a t-shirt and a plaid overshirt. I pulled my hair into a pony tail, and left Daryl sleeping quietly. I headed into the dining room where Lori and Carl were already up, with Jacqui and poor hung over Glenn. "Good morning," I greeted, sitting down. 

"Morning, Aunt Paisley," Carl greeted. 

"Morning, bud. How you doing Glenn?"

"Miserable," he moaned. "How are you not hung over?"

"I know my limits. And I ate a lot of pasta and bread. Starch absorbs alcohol."

"Any advice?" he asked. 

"Stay hydrated," I smirked, pouring myself a cup of coffee. After adding milk and sugar, I took a drink. "Mmm...I missed coffee. Even if it's the instant kind." 

Daryl came in, and he took a chair next to me, grabbing some coffeel. Rick finally came dragging to sit beside Carl. "Hello," he moaned. 

Dale smirked. "Morning."

"Are you hungover? Mom said you'd be," Carl told him. 

Rick nodded. "Mom is right." 

"Mom has that annoying habit," Lori smiled. 

T-Dog placed down a plate of eggs. "Eggs. Powered, but-but I do'em good."Glenn moaned. "I bet you can't tell." Dale laughed at Glenn's misery and T-Dog's teasing. Jacqui rubbed his shoulders as he slumped against the table. Dale laughs at Glenn's misery and T-Dog's teasing. Jacqui rubs Glenn's shoulders. T-Dog dishes out the eggs to all, including Glenn. "Protein helps the hangover." 

"That't true. Eat up," I told Glenn. 

Rick held up a bottle of aspirin. "Where'd all this come from?" 

"Jenner," Lori explained. 

"Could you help me, please?" Rick asked.

Lori opened the bottle for him. "He thought we could use it." 

"Thank you." 

"Some of us, at least,"

I smirked, smiling in a bite of eggs. 

"Don't ever ever ever let me drink again," Glenn moaned. 

Shane entered, looking worse than anybody. "Hey." 

"Hey. Feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked. 

Shane walked to the table where the coffee pot and cups were. "Worse."

"What the hell happened to you? Your neck?" T-Dog asked.

I looked up, and saw the scratches on his neck that looked angry and irritated. "I must have done it in my sleep," he shrugged.

"Never seen you do that before," Rick told him. 

"Me neither." I saw him glance at Lori. "Not like me at all." Lori ate her food, but doesn't look up. 

I furrowed my eyebrows, as I observed them. Something didn't seem right. But then Dr. Jenner walked in. "Morning." 

"Hey, Doc," Shane greeted. 

"Doctor. I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing—" Dale told the man. 

Edwin nodded. "But you will anyway." 

"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea told him. 

Jenner lead us all into the big room where we first entered. "Give me playback of TS-19," he commanded Vi. 

"Playback of TS-19." 

"Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few."

On the screen was an oversized display that showed varying 3-D views of human skulls. 

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked. 

"An extraordinary one. Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for E.I.V." 

"Enhanced internal view," Vi siad. 

The main screen changed to show the upper shoulders and head of the subject. The screen skewed to a horizontal view than increased the magnification. The image became more and more detailed, showing inside of the skull. The brain appeared to be lit up with bright blue threads of energy. 

"What are those lights?" Shane asked. 

"It's a person's life—experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you—the thing that makes you unique and human," Dr. Jenner explained. 

"Amazing," I whispered. 

"You don't make sense ever?" Dale asked. 

I sighed, pointing to the screen. "Those are synapses. Electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages called neurotransmitters."

Dr. Jenner nodded. "She's right. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death." 

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick asked. 

"Yes. Or rather the playback of the vigil." 

"This person died? Who?" Andrea asked. 

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected... and volunteered to have us record the process. VI, Scan forward to the first event."

"Scanning to first event."

I leaned into the table, watching in curiousity as the image scanned forward. The brain still had the lights of memories and personality, but the center has become dark as if black roots were growing inside. "What is that?" Glenn asked. 

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be...gone."

"So, it's a virus. It causes multi-organ system failure, intense fever, and acts like syphilis," I clarified. 

"In a sense...yes," Dr. Edwin Jenner agreed. 

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked. 

"Yes," Carol said, rubbing her shoulders. 

Andrea teared up. "Sorry, Andrea," I sighed. 

Lori rubbed her back. "She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister," she explained to Dr. Jenner. 

"I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is," Dr. Jenner told Andrea. "Scan to the second event." 

"Scanning to second event," Vi complied. 

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute... seven seconds." A red glow flickered at the base of the brain, but the rest remained dark. Random sparks shot out into the larger area, but no further lights glowed. 

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked. 

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving," Dr. Jenner explained. 

"But they're not alive?" I asked. 

He gestured to the monitor. "You tell me." 

Rick shook his head. "It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark." 

Dr. Jenner nodded. "Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part—that doesn't come back. The _you_ part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct."

The subject moved, it's mouth opening and closing. It began to lift up, but a barrel of a gun appeared at it's forehead, and a bullet entered the brain, tearing through the clusters of embers. The brain went completely dark and the subject stopped moving.

"God. What was that?" Carol asked. 

"He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?" Andrea asked. 

"VI, Power down the main screen and the workstations." 

"Powering down main screen and workstations," Vi complied. 

I turned towards the doctor. "You have no idea what it is, do you?" 

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal..." 

"Or the wrath of god?" Jacqui asked. 

"There is that," he nodded. 

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere," I said. 

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked. 

"There may be some. People like me." 

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" 

"Everything went down. Communications, directives—all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month." 

"So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?" I asked. 

"Jesus," Jacqui whispered. 

Daryl shook his head. "Man, I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk again." 

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but...that clock—it's counting down. What happens at zero?" Dale asked. 

"The basement generators-they run out of fuel." 

"And then?" Rick asked. Dr. Jenner ignored the question, and walked out of the big room. "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" 

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur," Vi answerd. 

"What the fuck does that mean?" I asked, not liking the way it was sounding. 


	7. The End

"Decontamination-what does that mean?" Glenn asked, repeating my question in a more polite way. Shane, Rick, T-Dog, myself, Daryl, and Glenn entered the basement. 

"I don't like the way Jenner clammed up. The way he just wandered off like that," Shane said. 

"What's wrong with him? Seriously, man. Is he nuts, medicated, what?" T-Dog asked. 

Rick looked at a map on the wall. "In there."

We entered the room, and the lights came on as the door opened. 

"Check that way. Shane..."

I followed Shane and RIck as we walked through the utility room. Rick found a barrel with a hose coming out of it. "It's empty..." 

The lights flickered, and went out. Different lights came on. "What's the fuck is going on?" I asked. 

"Emergency lighting on," Vi said. 

"What the hell is this?" Shane asked. 

Glenn and T-Dog raced up. "Hey, you guys kill the lights?" Glenn asked. 

"Nah, it just went out." 

"Anything?" Rick asked. 

T-Dog nodded. "Yeah, a lot of dead generators and more empty fuel drums than I can count." 

"It can't be down to just that one," Shane said, pointing to one. 

"Guys...Something is seriously wrong here," I said. 

"Come on," Rick said, leading us away. 

"You'd be surprised," Jenner said as we came over to them. 

"Rick?" Lori called out. 

He motioned her to wait. Dr. Jenner walked down the stairs past our group, and up the stairs to the big room. "Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked. 

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule." 

Dr. Jenner took another drink from the bottle. He paused at the steps that led up to the work stations in the big room. We all followed. Edwin handed the bottle to Daryl who angril snatched it out of Edwin's hand. "It was the French," Jenner told Andrea. 

"What?" she asked. 

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were close to a solution." 

"What happened?" she asked. 

"The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" 

Shane stepped forward. "Let me tell you-" 

"To Hell with it, Shane. I don't even care. Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here _now!"_ Rick declared. 

"Oh, okay," Jacqui nodded. 

"Come on, Carl," I said, grabbing my nephew's hand. 

An alarm sounded. "What's that?" 

"What's that?" Carl asked, fear in his voice. 

"30 minutes to decontamination," Vi said. 

"Doc ,what's going on here?" Daryl asked. 

Jenner scanned his badge, and entered the code into a security pad. "Everybody, y'all heard Rick," Shane said. 

"Get your stuff and let's go! Go now! Go!" Rick shouted. 

"Let's go," T-Dog shouted. 

"Come on!" Glenn shouted. 

We all raced towards the doors, but it closed, sliding up, blocking our exit. "What the fuck!" I shouted, banging on it. 

"No. Did you just lock us in? He just locked us in!" Glenn shouted angrily. 

"Carl!" Lori shouted. 

"Mom!" Carl called back, tears in his eyes. 

Daryl made a run at Jenner. "You son of a bitch!"

"Daryl, no!" I shouted. 

"Shane! Shane!" Rick called out, restraining him. 

"You locked us in here!" Daryl grunted. 

"No, stop. Don't!" T-Dog shouted. 

"You lying-" 

"No no no no!" 

Daryl tried to take Jenner out, but Shane and Rick pulled him off. "Wait, no! No, don't do it!" T-Dog shouted. 

"Daryl! Stop!" I shouted, pushing him back against his chest. 

He calmed down a bit, but still threatened Jenner with the bottle. "Hey, Jenner, open that door now," Rick growled. 

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed." 

"Well, open the damn things!" I shouted. 

"That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way." 

"What is? What happens in 28 minutes? What happens in 28 minutes?!" Rick shouted. 

"Come on!" Daryl shouted. 

"Stop!" I told him, pushing him back again. 

"You know what this place is?! We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!" Jenner shouted. He collected himself. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure—in a terrorist attack, for example—H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out." 

"H.I.Ts?" Rick asked. 

"Vi, define." 

"H.I.T.s—high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen at between 5,000 degrees and 6,000 degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired." 

"It sets the air on fire. No pain," Jenner explained. We all stood there in shock. The only sounds was Carol and Sophie's sobs. "An end to sorrow,grief...regret. Everything."

Daryl threw the liquour bottle at the door. "Open the damn door!" 

Shane grabbed a fire axe and ran at the door. "Out of my way!"

T-Dog tossed one to Daryl. "Daryl!" 

He caught it and both of them tried to destroy the door. "Daryl!" 

"You should've left well enough alone it would have been so much easier," Jenner said. 

"Easier for who?" Lori asked, holding Carl. 

"All of you. You know what's out there. A short brutal life and an agonizing death." He turned to Andrea. "Your—your sister—what was her name?" 

"Amy," she whispered. 

"Amy. You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that what you really want for your wife and son?" 

"I don't want this!" Rick shouted. 

"Can't make a dent," Shane grunted, trying to cut the door. 

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher," Edwin called out. 

"Well,your head ain't!" Daryl shouted. 

"Daryl!" I shouted, as Dale, RIck, and Shane all held him back. 

"Whoa! Whoa!" 

"Daryl! Daryl!" Rick called out. 

T-Dog took the axe away from Daryl. "Just back up! Back up!"

"Come on," I told him, grabbing him by the shirt. 

"You _do_ want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead." 

We all froze. "What?" T-Dog asked. 

"Rick?" I asked, shocked and appalled. 

"What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane asked. 

Rick looked at me and Lori. "I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" 

"There is no hope. There never was," Jenner told us. 

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here but somebody somewhere—" Rick said. 

"What part of 'everything is gone' do you not understand?" Andrea said. 

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event." 

"This isn't right. You can't keep us here," Carol told him. 

"One tiny moment-a millisecond. No pain." 

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this." 

"Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate just to hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" 

"Shane, no!" Rick shouted, as Shane came out with a shot gun. 

"Out of the way, Rick! Stay out of my way! Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?" 

"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this. We will never get out of here." 

"Shane, you listen to him," Lori called out to him. 

"It's too late..." 

"He dies, we all-" Shane pointed the gun at Jenner's face, then shifted his aim to a computer monitor, shooting it repeatedly as he screamed. "-We all die! Shane! Shane!" 

He struggled to take the gun away from Shane, eventually hitting Shane across the head with the butt of his gun, and throwing an elbow into his shoulder. Shane fell, and Rick ran at him. The held the but of the gun, ready to hit him again if necessary. "Are you done now? Are you done?" Rick asked, panting. 

He shows Shane that he's ready to use the shotgun as a weapon again.

"Yeah, I guess we all are."

Rick handed the gun to T-Dog, and we all stared at Rick. "I think you're lying," Rick told Jenner. 

"What?" 

"You're lying about no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?" 

"It doesn't matter." 

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?" 

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise." He pointed to the screen. "To her. My wife." 

"Test subject 19 was your wife?" Lori asked. 

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no?" Jenner asked as Daryl went to to hack on the door again. "She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the _world_. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field she was an _Einstein._ Me? I'm just... Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me." 

"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's—that's all we want—a choice, a chance," Rick said. 

"Let us keep trying as long as we can," Lori begged. 

"I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those," Jenner said, walking back to the security pad. He unlocked the door that Daryl was beating on.

"Come on!" Daryl called out. 

"Let's go!" Glenn asked. 

"Come on, let's go! Come on! Move it! Move it! Come on, let's go!" Glenn shouted. 

They didn't have to ask me twice. I suddenly had a thought. I ran back to Jenner. "You have medical supplies. Where are they?"

"What?" he asked. 

"Where. Are. They."

"In my lab," Jenner admitted. 

I nodded, and ran to my room first, grabbing my bag. I ran back into the lab, opening the cabinet. I grabbed an empty duffle bag and began to fill it up with needles, bottles of rubbing alcohol, different pills, everything I can. "What are you doing here! We have to go!" Daryl shouted, coming into the room. 

"We might need this stuff later! Grab those!" I shouted, pointing to the gloves. He did, and I stuffed everything in the bag. "Let's go!" 

We raced into the main lobby, and I could hear Daryl mutter something behind me. It sounded like: _I have to stop running after this woman._

"HEY! OPEN THE DOORS! OPEN THE FUCKING DOORS!" I shouted as we raced towards them.

"Get them doors open!" Daryl shouted. 

"Come on! It doesn't work!" Glenn told us. 

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" T-Dog tried the electronic security pad beside the door, but it didn't work. "Try it! Try it! Try it now!" 

"Daryl!" Shane shouted, tossing him an axe. The both started hitting the glass, but it didn't break. 

"Come on! Come on!"

Carol pulled Sophia close to her. "Stay close, sweetheart."

T-Dog made a run at the window with a chair. "Daryl, look out!" 

The chair didn't work. Shane loaded his shotgun. "Dog, get down! Get down!" he shouted. 

Shane fired a round at the glass, but it barely made a dent. "Jesus H. Christ," I cursed. 

"The glass won't break?" Sophia asked. 

Carol reached into her bag. "Rick, I have something that might help." 

" Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it," Shane told her, pacing. 

"Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket."

Carol pulled out a grenade, giving it to him. "Come on," she told her daughter, running towards the back of of the lobby. 

"Look out!" T-Dog shouted. 

Daryl grabbed my hand, pulling me to safety. Rick pulled the pin out of the grenade, and put it on the window sill. I stood up. "RICK!" I screamed. 

Rick was wide eyed at what he just done, but jumped back. "Oh, sh-"

"Get down!" Shane called out. 

Daryl pulled me down. "Get down!" 

"Shit!" Rick shouted, ducking down. 

The blast was loud as the nearest window shattered, big enough for us to escape through. Daryl grabbed my hand, and we all ran outside. I grabbed my favorite handgun from my pocket, shooting the walkers that came our way. Daryl let to of my hand and killed one with his axe. We got to the truck, where Daryl quickly unlocked it. We almost climbed in when Lori shouted out. "Wait wait wait. Wait wait. They're coming."

Sure enough, Andrea and Dale jumped down and of the building and raced for the RV. "Come on. Dale, get down! Down!" Lori shouted. 

"Get back! Everybody down! Down!"

"Shit!" I cursed ducking down behind the truck. 

"Get down!" Dale shouted. 

We all ducked as a huge fireball erupted from the CDC. I winced as I cuddled close to Daryl as my heat made my hair fly around us. Once it was safe, we all came around from our hiding places. Daryl opened up the passenger door, climbing in. He climbed in, and held out his hand. "Paisley..."

I nodded, throwing my bags into the bed and grabbed his hand. We shared a look as a tingle went up my arm. I sat in the passenger seat and closed the door. I sat back in my seat, running a hand through my hair on the way back. 


	8. Road Trippin'

"We're probably driving into another trap," I voiced as I sat in Dary's truck, my bare feet propped up on the dash board. 

"Are you always this chatty?" Daryl asked. 

"You're the one that pulled me into your truck. It's not the first time it's happened," I smirked. 

"Last time I ever do that." 

"Why did you want me to come with you?" I asked. 

He shrugged. "Don't know...Maybe you're not so bad."

I smirked. "You're not so bad yourself, Dixon. You did come after me in the CDC. So...We got miles of road ahead of us...Might as well get to know each other better."

He smirked. Soon, small talk turned into telling each other stories from our childhood, finding the little things in common. "I was a total wild child when I was younger. You name it, I did it. Drinking, partying...I was angry that my parent's died," I explained. "Rick and Shane bailed me out more times than I could count."

Daryl chucked. "I spent my time out in the woods. It was Merle that would end up in trouble and in jail. Sometimes I had to bail him out, or I got caught up in him."

"Why did you spend so much time in the woods?" I asked. "Was it because of the scars?"

Daryl froze, tightening the grip on the sterring wheel. "How did you-"

I sighed. "I'm not stupid, Daryl...You think that just because my big brother was a cop that I got shielded?" I shifted in my seat. "Freshman year of high school, I got drunk. I was at a party. I went into a room to lay down, and this guy came in. He was harrassing me all night. I guess I was an easy target. I woke up in the middle. I think my brain shut down so I wouldn't know what was happening. When it was over, I called Rick. He and Shane took me to the hospital, I got a rape kit performed, and Rick called a friend of his to take my statement. The nurse so was nice and understanding. She helped me. That's when I really knew I wanted to become a nurse." 

Daryl didn't say anything. "It was my dad...He wasn't a nice person. Most times it was his belt..."

After our heart to heart, we fell into an easy banter. He still called me princess, which still ignored me. "Fuckin' piece of shit!" Daryl cursed when we ran out of gas. 

I was never one for motorcycles, it was was exhilarating as I raced on the back of Daryl's. We all knew that the RV was on it's last legs, but when it finally sputtered and smoked, we knew what it meant. Daryl pulled over, and I was careful not to get engine burns. 

"I told you a million times to wear jeans!" Daryl said as I walked over to the group. 

"And I told you a million times that I'll wear jeans when it starts to get cold outside. It's hot out." 

"I said it. Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water," Dale said, kicking the RV. 

"Problem, Dale? " 

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-okay, that was dumb..." he mumbled. 

"If you can't find a radiator hose here... " Shane said, looking around the many dead cars along the highway were we were stopped at. 

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Daryl agreed. 

T-Dog nodded. "I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." 

"Maybe some water," Carol said hopeful. 

"Or food," Glenn suggested. 

"Medical supplies," I said. 

"This is a graveyard. I don't know how I feel about this," Lori sighed. 

"All right, all right, here we go," Shane said. 

"Come on, y'all. Just look around, gather what you can," T-Dog called out. 

I headed for a car, opening the passenger door. I opened the glove box, smiling when I found a pair of aviators. I put them on, and saw a brown leather jacket. I went to the trunk, finding a first aid kit. Opening it, I found several useful items and placed it in my arms. 

I went to another car, opening their trunk, finding another first aid kit. Daryl grabbed me suddenly, scaring me half to death. "Jesus Fucking Christ, Daryl!" 

"Shh!" he hissed, nodding his head towards the incoming horde of walkers. 

"Shit..." I whispered, more than scared half to death. He pulled me down and we both crawled under the car I was looking at, with me on top of him. I gripped his leather vest as thousands of limping feet passed over us. I placed my hand over my mouth as the Walkers walked by. 

Over from where we were, I could see T-Dog clutching his arm, and his hand soaked in blood. Then I heard the shrill scream of a young girl and saw Sophia dart into the woods with two walkers behind her. Rick went after her and we all came out from underneath the cars. 

"Lori. There's two walkers after my baby," Carol sobbed. 

Lori held her friend. "Shh shh."

"Dog, what happened?" I asked, looking at his arm. 

"Cut it when I was trying to get away..."

"Dale! Can you grab me my bag!" 

"Yep! Here!" 

I grabbed it and grabbed one of the bottles of rubbing alcohol. "This is going to hurt like Hell." 

I poured it on the wound and he cried out. I began to wipe it clean, and wrap it in gauze, tightly. "How bad is it?" Daryl asked. 

"Bad...I think he might need stitches."

"Well, can't you do it?"

I sighed. "I'm a fucking nurse, not a damn plastic surgeon. So, no...I can't. But I can keep it clean until we figured something out and I can control the bleeding. Can I have more gauze?" I was handed another role. I wrapped it around, and tied it off tightly. "Keep it elevated. What the hell happened to Sophia?"

"I don't know..." Shane said. 

Rick came back. "Where's Sophia?!" Carol asked. 

"I hid her so I could get the walkers away from her. I told her to come back here...To keep the sun on her left shoulder. She didn't come back?"

"No," Lori told him, rubbing Carol's back. 

"I can go out there and try to track her," Daryl volunteered, grabbing his crossbow from his motorcycle. 

Shane volunteered to go out there as well. "Hey, Dixon..." I called out. "Be careful."

He smirked. "Same to you, Princess."

He left, with Glenn going while I checked on T-Dog's bandages. I dug through the supplies, and found a bottle of penicillin. "Hey, D. You have any drug allergies?"

"No, why..."

"Because I'm about to shoot you up with a big dose of antibiotics." I grabbed a needle, and did the steps to ensure a clean administration. "Drop them..."

Glenn and Shane arrived just as he was undoing his belt. "Uh..."

"Antibiotics..." I explained, showing them the needle. T-Dog grumbled and pushed down his boxers and jeans so I could clean his skin. "Want me to count?"

"Sure..." he said, bracing himself against a car. 

"One..." I quickly stuck the needle in, and pushed the medicine into his muscle. He let out a yelp as Glenn and Shane snickered. 

"I thought you said you'll count!"

I grinned, putting a bandaid over the wound. "I did...To one. I'll come check your wound in a couple of hours, okay?"

"Yes, Dark Mistress," Glenn snickered, causing Shane to crack up. 

"Hey...We need to move these cars so we could get through," Shane called out. 

I continued to go through trunks, collecting any medical supplies that I could. "Why aren't we all out there looking? Why are we moving cars?" Carol asked. 

"We have to clear enough room so I can get the RV turned around as soon as it's running. Now that we have fuel we can double back to a bypass that Glenn flagged on the map," Dale explained. 

Shane nodded. "Going back's going to be easier than trying to get through this mess." 

"We're not going anywhere till my daughter gets back," Carol said. 

"Hey, that goes without saying." 

"Rick and Daryl, they're on it, okay? Just a matter of time," I told her, stuffing a bottle of aspirin and tylenol my industrial size first aid kit. 

"Can't be soon enough for me. I'm still freaked out from that herd that passed us by, or whatever you'd call it," Andrea called out. 

"Yeah, what was that? All of them just marching along like that," Glenn asked. 

"A herd," Shane tested out. "That sounds about right. We've seen it. It's like the night camp got attacked. Some wandering pack,only fewer." He let out a breath. "Okay. Come on, people. We still got a lot to do. Let's stay on it. Let's go, come on."

We continued on until it was getting late at night. 

"Oh god, they're back," Glenn shouted. 

Carol rushed forward with hope, but soon fell to anquish and sorrow. "You didn't find her?" 

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light," Rick told her. 

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods." 

"Out in the dark's no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost," Daryl said. 

"But she's 12. She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?" 

"I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there..." Rick explained. 

"And we tracked her for a while," Daryl added. 

"We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." 

"Is that blood?" 

Rick sucked in a breath. "We took down a walker," he explained. 

"Walker? Oh my god..." 

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia." 

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked. 

Daryl looked at her. "We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure." 

"Oh god. How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?" Carol asked, turning angry. 

"Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw them off. It was her best chance," Rick explained. 

"Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol," I told her gently. 

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child. She's just a child," she sobbed. 

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make." 

"I'm sure nobody doubts that," Shane told my brother. 

"My little girl got left in the woods..." Carol sobbed into Lori's shoulder. 

We bunker-ed down tonight and, camping on the highway. "Did you really cut open a walker?" I asked Daryl as we both laid out our sleeping bags. 

"Yeah...Bastard ate a woodchuck. How was your day?"

I smirked. "Played nurse to T-Dog. Gave him a shot in the ass to prevent a bacterial infection. He still need stiches, but hopefully the gauze will be so tight that it'll slow the rate of bleeding."

"You'll figure something out...You always do," Daryl said quietly, laying down. 

I crawled into my sleeping back, turning to look at him. "You're an enigma, Daryl Dixon."

He looked unsure. "I don't know what that means." 

"It means that you're difficult and puzzling to understand." 

He smiled softly at me. "Good night, Princess."

"Night, Dixon."


	9. Shot's Fired

"Jeans?" Daryl asked as I pulled my hair into a ponytail. 

I smiled. "It's getting colder outside...And we're hiking through the woods." I checked the shotgun and put shells into my pocket. I had a thigh holster for my other gun, and stuck my knife into my boot. 

"You sure you know how to shoot that thing?"

"Please...My brother is a cop, as is my brother from another mother. They've trained me to shoot. Mostly skeet."

"Really?" Daryl asked, impressed. 

"It was a way to be in control." 

"Everybody takes a weapon," Rick told the rest of the group, holding out the weapons that Carl found earlier. 

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea asked. 

"We've been over that. Daryl, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles," Shane told her. 

"What about Paisley?" Andrea asked, seeing me, loading my shotgun. 

"I can shoot as easily as I can play nurse," I explained. 

"It's not the trees I'm worried about," Andrea sighed, giving yo. 

"I've taught Paisley how to shoot. She knows to shoot when she sees a walker. Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See,then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it," Shane told her. 

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles ,turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark," Daryl explained. 

Rick nodded. "Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other." 

"Everybody assemble your packs," Daryl ordered. 

"Dale, keep on those repairs. We've got to get this RV ready to move." 

"We won't stay here a minute longer than we have to. Good luck out there. Bring Sophia back."

"I'm leaving my first-aid kit here for T-Dog. I got some supplies in my back pack if I need it. If the bandage get's soiled, rewrap it. There's some Iburpofen in there and the next dose of penicillin."

Dale nodded. "Got it." 

I headed over to Daryl, and saw Carl join us. We walked a little way and saw Shane be rude to Carl. "Hey, bud...Come here," I called out, holding out my hand. "You can be my assistant."

Carl looked happy. "Can I, Mom?"

Lori smiled and nodded. "Stay close to your Aunt Paisley, okay?" 

"Okay!" 

He walked by my side as I explained a couple of basic medical facts to him. "Whoa..." I said when we came to a tent. 

"She could be in there," Shane whispered. 

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there," Daryl corrected. 

Rick turned to call out to Carol. "Carol. Call out softly. If she's in there, yours is the first voice she should hear." 

Carol nodded. She took a ginger step. "Sophia, sweetie, are you in there? Sophia, it's mommy. Sophia. We're all here, baby. It's mommy." Daryl slowly unzipped the tent, and began to gag and cough. "Daryl? Daryl?" she asked. 

"It ain't her," he sighed. 

"What's in there?" 

"Some guy. Did what Jenner said opted out. Ain't that what he called it?" he asked. 

Suddenly, there were church bells ringing. "You guys hear that?" I asked, turning my head. 

"What direction?" Shane asked. 

Rick pointed. "I think that way. I'm pretty sure." 

"Damn, it's hard to tell out here." 

"If we heard them, maybe Sophia did too," Carol said hopefully. 

"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others." 

"Or signaling they found her," Shane suggested. 

"She could be ringing them herself. Come on," Rick said, leading the way. 

We finally came up to a church. "That can't be it. Got no steeple, no bells. Rick..." Shane said. 

There were several walkers. I walked over to them, stabbing the barrel of my gun through it's head. Rick, Shane, and Daryl took others out and we all went into the church. "Sophia!" Rick called out, but there was no answer. 

Daryl walked over to a the wooden cross with a crusified Jesus Christ on it. "Yo,J.C, you taking requests?" 

"I'm telling you, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick. There's no steeple."

The bells continued to ring, but then stopped. "A timer. It's on a timer," Daryl explained. 

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit," Carol said, going back into the church. I followed her in and overheard her prayer. "Father, forgive me. I don't deserve your mercy. I prayed for safe passage from Atlanta and you provided. I prayed for Ed to be punished for laying his hands on me and for looking at his own daughter with whatever sickness was growing in his soul. I prayed you'd put a stop to it, give me a chance to raise her right, help her not make my mistakes. She's so fearful. She's so young in her way. She hasn't had a chance. Praying for Ed's death was a sin. Please, don't let this be my punishment. Let her be safe,alive and safe. Please, lord. Punish me however you want, but show mercy on her." I sat beside her and took her hand, squeezing. 

Carol and I left the church, and rejoined the others. "Mmm. Ahem. Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back,okay? Daryl,you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be through." 

"You're splitting us up. You sure?" Daryl asked. 

Shane nodded. "Yeah, we'll catch up to you." 

"I want to stay too. We're her friends," Carl protested. 

"I'll stay too," I volunteered, seeing Daryl grow angry. "I'll keep an eye on him Lor."

She nodded. "Just be careful, okay? Stick close to the adults." 

Carl smiled, happy. "I wil." l

"When did you start growing up?" Lori asked her son. 

"You sure you wanna go?" Daryl asked. 

I smirked. "Worried about me, Dixon?"

He rolled his eyes. "Keep your eyes sharp. And don't get into trouble." 

I rolled my eyes back at him. "Whatever. You know that I can take care of myself."

"Whatever you say, Princess."

"Jerk," I hissed, punching his shoulder. 

He smiled at me, and then turned to lead the others. Rick went into the church, and then came back after a couple of moments. "Aunt Paisley?" Carl asked. 

"Yeah?"

"Are you and Daryl boyfriend and girlfriend."

I let out a loud laugh. "Seriously? No...We're not even friends. Why would you say that?"

"Because Mom once told me that when boys liked somebody, they picked on them. That's why I would always tease Eliza." 

I rolled my eyes. "Carl, let me let you in on a little secret. Boys...and me...are idiots."

His eyes widened. "They are?"

"Yep. Every single one. They know that women hold the real power in their world. So, they act tough and manly, and become stupid to get girl's attention."

"Are all men stupid?"

"Yep...Your dad, Shane, Glenn, Daryl, T, and even Dale...But you won't be stupid, you know why?"

"Why?" he asked. 

"Because you got the best mom ever. And you have the coolest aunt in the whole universe, and I'm pretty awesome. One day, you will find a girl that you really like. Don't be an idiot. Be a gentleman. Give her a smile, give her flowers, and treat her like a queen."

Rick and Shane snickered ahead of us, but then stopped. "Carl..." he whispered, pointing to the deer. 

I smiled as the deer stopped to eat grass. Carl stepped forward, and I followed him softly. But then a loud gun shot rang out. We all froze. It was like everything happened in slow motion. My hands went to my body checking for wounds. My eyes grew wide in horror as did Rick and Shane's as blood seeped into Carl's shift and he fell.I rushed to him as did Rick.

"Oh no. No. No no no no!" Rick chanted, tears instantly filling his eyes and falling down his face. 


	10. Meet the Greenes

"Carl! Carl!" I shouted, turning him onto his back seeing the gushing bullet wound. "Oh my god!"

"Carl..." Rick moaned. "Paisley...Do something!" 

"I am!" I said, taking off my shirt to pack the wound and applying pressure. 

"Oh my god! I didn't see him." 

Shane whirled and pulled his gun on the man that came from the trees. He was a heavy set older man carrying a shot gun. "You fucking shot a fucking kid, you fucking asshole!" I shouted, my hands getting drenched in my nephew's blood. 

"I'm sorry! I can help!"

"Rick...We need to get him help," I told my older brother. 

"Our place! I have a place! There's a doctor!" 

"Where?!" I shouted. 

"Couple of miles that way!" 

"Show us! Now!" Shane shouted. 

"Rick...Keep him against your body! It can provide pressure!" 

Rick picked him up and we all raced to find the mysterious Hershel. "Come on!" Rick shouted, racing ahead. 

"Hey, you move, shithead. Come on. Get us there!" Shane shouted to the man. 

"How far? How far?!" I shouted. 

"Another half mile that way. Hershel. Talk to Hershel. He'll help your boy." The man was gasping behind us as Shane pushed him forward with the shut gun. "I'm sorry!" 

"Let's go. Come on!"

I got there first, seeing a young woman. "HEY!" I shouted. 

The woman turned to shout into the house. "Dad!"

An older man with white hair came out. "Was he bit?" the man asked. 

Rick came up behind me, panting. "Shot. By your man." 

A heavy set woman exited the house. "Otis?"

"He said find Hershel is that you? Help me. Help my boy," Rick begged. 

"Get him inside. Patricia, I need my full kit. Maggie, painkillers, coagulates-grab everything. Clean towels, sheets, alcohol. In here. Pillowcase..." 

Hershel led us inside, and Rick set him on the bed. 

"Is he alive?"

Hershel looked at my handiwork as the young woman, who I assumed was Maggie, entered. "Pillowcase, quick." 

Rick continued to pant. "Is he alive?" 

"Fold it. Make a pad. Put pressure on the wound. I've got a heartbeat. It's faint..."

I took the pillowcase from Maggie. I made a pad and placed it against the wound, removing my shirt. "Maggie, IV." 

"We need some place," Maggie said. 

Hershel turned to my brother. "Your name?" 

"Rick." 

"Rick?" 

"I'm-I'm Rick..." 

"Rick, we're gonna do everything we can, okay? You need to give us some room. Now."

He still was frozen. I turned towards him. "Richard..." I called out, using his full name. "We got him, okay? Go find Shane." He nodded at me and backed up, I looked back at Hershel. "Hi..." I turned to the woman. "Use his left arm...It's the best access. Use a 28 guage...He's got tiny veins." Maggie was surprised as was Hershel. "I'm a nurse," I explained. 

He nodded. "Then you can help." Maggie handed me the needle, and took my place holding the pillowcase in his wound as I threaded the needle into his skin. "You know his blood type?" 

"A-positive, same as mine," 

"That's fortunate. Don't wander far. I'm gonna need you. What happened?" Hershel asked. 

"I was tracking a buck. Bullet went through it." 

"When clean through. The deer slowed the bullet down, which certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke up into pieces. If I get the bullet fragments out...I'm counting six." 

"I never saw him, not until he was on the ground," Otis said. 

"Lori doesn't know?" Rick asked Shane. 

"No..." Shane told him. 

"My wife doesn't know. My wife doesn't know..."

"Shane...Take him out," I ordered. He nodded, and led Rick out of the room. 

I monitored Carl's heart rate, blood pressure, and reparations as Hershel went to retrieve the bullet fragments. I stroked his head. "You're going to be okay, buddy." 

"Is he your son?' Maggie asked. 

I shook my head. "No...He's my nephew. Rick's my brother. We were out trying to find someone in our group...It happened so fast." 

"Maggie...He's gonna need blood," Hershel told his daughter. 

She nodded when to get him, returning with Shane and Rick. 

I left Carl went to prep Rick. I grabbed a bigger gauge needle, and went to thread the IV catheter in. I fed the tubing into a jar, and handed him a stress ball. 

Carl cried out, having regained consciousness, and groaned. "You, hold him down," Hershel called out to Shane. 

"Dad!" Carl cried out. 

Shane held him down. "I got him." 

Carl screamed. "Almost there!" Hershel called out. 

Carl continued to scream. "Stop! You're killing him!" Rick shouted. 

"Rick, do you want him to live?" Hershel asked. 

"He needs blood," Patrica announced, assisting Hershel in my place. I growled, grabbing the full bag and passing it to her and starting another one. 

"Do it now!" Shane shouted. 

Carl's cries stopped, passing out from pain. "Wait. Wait. Hey..." 

"He just passed out. One down..." Hershel announced, removing one fragment from Carl's wound. "Five to go."

"Pressure's stable," I said, checking his blood pressure. 

"Lori needs to be here. She doesn't even know what's going on. I've got to go find her. Bring her back," Rick said. 

Hershel stood up. "You can't do that." 

"She's his mother. She needs to know what's happened. Her son's lying here shot," Rick argued back. 

"And he's going to need more blood. He can't go more than 50 feet from this bed," Hershel explained. 

Rick began to sway. "Hey. Hey. Come on...I got you, big brother," I told him, helping him steady as Shane went to help. 

"I'm all right. I'm all right." 

"I got him," Shane told me. "He's stable for now." 

"You're brother is stubborn," Hershel told me. 

"He's fought like hell to get him back to our family. Long story." I listened to his blood pressure again. "His pressure's dropping." I palpated his abdomen, feeling that it was distended and hard.

"I'll go tell Rick," Hershel said. 

I took a breather, finding Maggie in the hallway. "Hey...Is there anywhere I can clean up?"

She smiled. "Of course...Come on."

She led me into a bathroom and handed me a clean pair of skinny jeans and a tank top. "Here...You look to be about my size."

"Thanks," I smiled, washing my hands off of the blood. I took off my pants and tank, changing my clothes quickly. 

We walked outside, where Shane was planning on going with Otis to retrieve medical equipment for full surgery. "Where's your wife?" Lori asked after they left. 

"They should be heading back to the highway off of route 6. She's tall, skinny, and has dark hair. There should be others with them. One should be Daryl. He'll be holding a crossbow. He won't trust you."

"Is there anything I can tell them so they can trust me?"

I thought for a minute. "Tell Daryl...Tell Daryl that Princess says it's okay." She smiled, and went to jump on a horse and go get Lori. 

* * *

Daryl led the group back towards the highway, thinking about the gunshot. He told Paisley to be careful, but the unnerving that there was the gunshot. He didn't know why he was so drawn to the infuriating woman. But ever since they first met, he couldn't get her off of his mind. It was annoying. At first, he thought that she was an easy lay, going to proposition her. When she turned him down, cursed him out, and kneed him in the balls, he began to show respect for her. Her fiery attitude, her passion for helping people...She got under his skin. They've gotten to know each other for the past couple of days, and he noticed the small things about her. She was as equally guarded as he was, tough as nails, funny, has a mouth of a sailor, likes music and reading, and was perhaps one of the smartest people he even knew. 

"How much farther?" Lori asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

"Not much. Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies," Daryl said. 

"Too bad we're not crows," Lori sighed. 

Andrea didn't get it. "Oh. Oh-! As the crow flies ,my ass."

Suddenly, there were walkers coming towards Andrea, causing her to scream. "Andrea?" Lori called out. 

Suddenly, a woman riding a horse knocked them down, beating their heads in. "Lori? Lori Grimes? Whoa..." she asked, stopping her horse. 

Lori nodded. "I'm Lori." 

"Paisley and Rick sent me. You've got to come now," she said. 

"What?" 

"There's been an accident. Carl's been shot. He's still alive but you've got to come now. Rick needs you. Just come." 

Daryl stopped Lori. "Whoa whoa whoa. We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse."

The woman helped Lori up on the horse. "You Daryl?"

He froze. "Yeah...Why?" 

"Paisley wanted me to give you a message: Princess says it's okay. Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?"

Glenn was memorized by the horse riding woman. "Uh-huh," he nodded .

"Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox. The name is Greene. Hyah!"

* * *

"You're getting color back in your cheeks," I told Rick, handing him a glass of orange juice and a cookie Patrica provided. 

"You're amazing, by the way," Rick told me as I sat next to him. 

"What?" I asked. 

"You took charge...You made sure that Carl got the the help he needed. I'm proud of you." I smiled at my older brother. "This place is beautiful," he said, looking around the farm. 

"Been in my family 160 years," Hershel told us. 

"I can't believe how serene it is. How untouched. You're lucky," I told him. 

"We weren't completely unscathed. We lost friends, neighbors. The epidemic took my wife, my stepson," Hershel explained. 

"I'm sorry," Rick told him. 

"My daughters were spared. I'm grateful to God for that. These people here, all we've got left is each other. Just hoping we can ride it out in peace till there's a cure." 

Rick and I shared a look. "We were at the CDC. It's gone now. There is no cure," Rick told him. 

"I don't believe it. When AIDS came along, everyone panicked. One boy in town came down with it and some parents pulled their children from school so they didn't have to sit in the same room." 

"I'm going to go check on Carl," I told Rick, kissing his head. 

I sat next to Carl, and pulled out a book, reading to myself and to Carl. Lori came in, and I went to hug her. "My boy. My baby boy. Baby boy. It's okay. Mama's here. Mama's here. You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. We're gonna make you okay," she whimpered, kissing his head. Rick limped in and Lori and I caught him. "Slow. Slow. How many transfusions?" she asked. 

"Two. Only two." 

Lori smiled sadly. "He wanted to do the same for you when you were in the hospital. I had to talk him out of it/"

"So, I did it for him...and he held my hand for the entire time," I finished the story. "He was my nurse." 

Lori hugged me. "How bad is it?"

I sighed. "It's pretty bad, Lor. He possibly has internal bleeding. Hershel needs to open him up, and cautherize the bleeders and to remove the rest of the fragments. Shane and Otis went to go get the supplies."

She nodded, holding my hand. "Okay, so I understand, when Shane gets back with this other man-" 

"Otis," Hershel supplied. 

"Otis. The idiot who shot my son," she spat. 

"Ma'am, it was an accident," Hershel told her. 

"I'll take that under advisement. For now he's the idiot who shot our son."

"Don't worry Lor...I cursed him out. You know me," I told her. 

"Lori, they're doing everything they can to make it right," Rick assured her. 

"Okay, as soon as they get back you can perform this surgery?" Lori asked. 

Hershel nodded. "I'll certainly do my best." 

"Okay. You've done this procedure before?" 

"Well, yes, in a sense." 

"In a sense?"

"Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon," Rick told his wife. 

"No, I understand that. But I mean you're a doctor, right?" 

Hershel smiled. "Yes, ma'am. Of course. A vet."

"A veteran? A combat medic?" 

"A veterinarian." 

"And you've done this surgery before on what? Cows? Pigs?" Lori asked. 

"I-I have-I have to sit." 

I helped Rick sit down while Lori snorted. "Completely in over your head, aren't you?" 

Hershel smiled. "Ma'am, aren't we all?" 


	11. How to Save a Life

"Coffee?" Maggie asked as I in the kitchen. 

"Yes, please...God I miss Starbucks," I smiled, taking the steaming mug. 

"City girl, huh?" she teased. 

"Born and raised. Country girl?"

"Born and raised. So, do you think that they'll be here soon?"

I sighed. "Well, knowing my group, Carol would want to stay behind in case we find Sophia. So, they'll probably send Glenn and T-Dog."

"You sound like you know them well," Maggie commented.

"I do...We;re trying to do what you guys are doing here. Just trying to survive." 

Carol's Jeep Cherokee came rolling down. I jumped out of my chair and ran out, seeing Glenn and T-Dog get out, right on cue. I hugged Glenn, who easily caught me. "Hey..." he breathed out. 

"Hey," I sighed. 

"How is he?"

I shook my head. "Not good." I went to hug T-Dog. "Hey, T." 

"Hey, Doc...You okay?"

"Hanging in there..." 

"Did you close the gate up the road when you drove in?: Maggie asked, coming out. 

Glenn froze, and I smirked. "Uh, hi. Yes, we closed it. Did the latch and everything. Hello. Nice to see you again. We met before briefly." 

"Look, we came to help. There anything we can do?" 

Maggie was looking at T-Dog's bleeding arm. "It's not a bite. He cut myself pretty bad though. He probably need stitches and that's one thing I don't know how to do." 

Maggie nodded. "We'll have it looked at. I'll tell them you're here." 

Glenn nodded back to her, and went to hug me again, handing me my first aid kit. "We have some painkillers and antibiotics. I already gave him some, just like you ordered. If Carl needs any..."

I sagged in relief. "Thank you...I love you, Rhee."

"I love you too," he smiled. 

"Come on inside. I'll make you something to eat," Maggie called out, looking at me and Glenn with scrutiny. 

We entered Carl's bedroom, and Rick went over to shake Glenn's hand. "Hey," Glenn greeted. 

"Hey." 

"Um, we're here, okay?" Glenn told us. 

"Thank you." 

"Whatever you need," T-Dog said. 

"They don't get back soon, we're gonna make a decision to make." 

"And that is?" Rick asked. 

"Whether to operate on your boy without the respirator?" Hershel explained. 

"You said that wouldn't work," Lori told him. 

"I know...It's not exactly ideal. But we can't wait much longer." He looked at T-Dog. "Let's take a look at your arm." 

I followed them into Hershel's study, and I observed as he unwound the bandage. "I tried to clean it the best I could. I had rubbing alcohol from the CDC, and gauze, and antibiotics. I gave him a big dose of antibiotics." 

Hershel smiled at me. "You know your stuff. Where did you work?"

"Atlanta General. I worked in the free clinic, but rotated all over." 

"You'll need some stitches," Hershel told T-Dog. 

"Can you teach me?" I asked. "So i know?" 

Hershel smiled. "Sure...Come pull up a seat." 

Hershel explained he steps as I watched intently. Then he handed me the instruments. "Here...You do, it." 

"Really?" I asked, surprised. 

"Yeah." 

"Make it look pretty, Paisley," T-Dog teased. 

I did a couple of stitches with Hershel pointing a couple of things out. Once I was done, I smiled as I tied off the wound. "You're a natural," Hershel smiled. 

"Thanks," I said, wrapping T-Dog's arm with gauze and giving him some more antibiotics. 

T-Dog went downstairs to grab some food to eat, while I stayed with Rick and Lori. Carl coughed and came to. "Where are we?" he asked weakly, looking around. 

Rick and Lori went to his side and I smiled at him. "Hey, little man. That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident. All right?" Rick explained, stroking his head. 

"It hurts, a lot," he moaned. 

"Oh baby, I know. I know," Lori told him. 

"You should have seen it." 

"What?" 

"The deer. It was so pretty. Gray. It was so close. I've never been..."

Carl's voice trailed off, and started to shake violently. 

"Carl?" I asked, stepping into nurse mode. 

"Carl?" Rick asked. 

"What is happening?" Lori asked, tears falling down her cheeks. 

I turned Carl onto his side. "Don't. It's a seizure. If you hold him down, you could hurt him," I told Rick, as he tried to hold him down.

"You can't stop it?" Lori asked.

"He has to just go through it," Hershel explained. 

Lori sobbed as Rick held her. Finally, Carl settled. 

"His brain isn't getting enough blood. His pressure is bottoming. He needs another transfusion," Hershel explained again. 

"Okay, I'm ready." 

"If I take any more out of you your body could shut down. You could go into a coma. Or cardiac arrest." 

"You're wasting time," Rick growled. 

I looked up. "You can take mine. I'm O negative. I'm a universal donor." 

Hershel nodded. "Okay..." I gave several units, but it wasn't helping. "He's still losing blood faster than we can replace it. And with the swelling in his abdomen we can't wait any longer or he's just going to slip away. Now I need to know right now if you want me to do this, because I think your boy is out of time. You have to make a choice." 

"A choice?" Lori asked. 

"A choice. You have to tell me what it is. You have to tell me what it is," Rick told me. 

Hershel glanced at me also, and so did Lori. I nodded. "We do it." 

"Okay," Lori nodded. "Do it." 

"Okay, get the corner of that bed. Let's get the sheets down everybody. Get the IV bag on the sheet. Okay, on three. One, two, three. Rick, Lori, you may want to step out." 

I helped Hershel prep Carl as a truck approached. "Fucking hell," I sighed.

Shane entered, looking worn to Hell, passing over the stuff. "Fucking hell, Shane!" I gasped. 

The surgery was a success. I smiled at Lori. "His pressure is stable." 

"He seems to have stabilized," Hershel told Lori and RIck. 

Rick exhaled. "Oh god." 

"I don't have words," Lori sobbed, giving me a hug.

"He's okay, Mama. He's okay, Lor. We got him," I told her, rubbing her back. 

"I don't either. Wish I did. How do I tell Patricia about Otis?" Hershel said. 

I gave Shane a hug. "Thank you, brother," I told him, placing a kiss on his cheek. 

I went to tell T-Dog and Glenn the best news. 


	12. Roses

"Hey!" I greeted the others as the pulled up. 

"How is he?" Dale asked. 

Lori smiled, giving him a hug. "He'll pull through, thanks to Paisley, Hershel, and his people." 

"And Shane. We'd have lost Carl if not for him," Rick added .

Carol gave them both a hug, and then me. "Thank god. We were so worried." 

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked. 

"Hunting accident. That's all-just a stupid accident."

I went out to greet Andrea, and then stopped at Daryl. "Miss me, Dixon?" I asked, smirking. 

"You know...You were smart when you told that girl that say that Princess said it was okay," he smirked. 

"I know. I smart, after all. So...Did you miss me?"

"Your nagging? No..." he smirked. 

"Liar," I smiled. 

"What happened?" he asked, pointing to the bandage around my elbow. 

I touched the gauze. "Carl needed blood. The Blood Bank of Rick was depleted, so I gave him mine." 

"Was it really an accident?" he whispered. "We heard a gun shot, you know."

I nodded. "We came across a deer and it was so close. We were looking at it. Otis...the guy...He shot right through the deer and into Carl. It happened so fast."

"I'm glad you're okay...and him," Daryl admitted. 

I smiled softly. "So...Sophia?"

Daryl shook his head. "No." 

I sighed softly. "Come on..." 

We walked over to Rick and Hershel, who explained what was going on to the older man.

"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked. 

"This'll be day three," Rick answered. 

Maggie handed him a map. "County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations."

"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams," Rick said with hope in his voice. 

"Not you. Not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out. And your ankle- push it now,you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody."

"Guess it's just me. I'm gonna head back to the creak, work my way from there. I can still be useful," Daryl suggested. 

I shrugged. "I can go too. I only gave one unit last night. I'm hydrated, rested up, and not injured." 

"I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back," Shane volunteered. 

"All right, tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right," Rick said. 

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." 

Hershel shook his head. "I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." 

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here..." 

"Look, we're guests here. This is your property. And we will respect that. First things first: set camp, find Sophia," Rick told Hershel. 

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that," Shane said. 

Rick sighed. "You do what has to be done." 

Maggie faced our group. "And her mother? What do you tell her?" 

"The truth," I said. 

"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site. I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience," Shane said. 

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun," Rick explained to Hershel. 

He nodded. "Thank you," Shane said. 

I sighed, passing over my handgun to Shane. "My shotgun is over there by my bag." 

"That stuff you brought, got more antibiotics, bandages, anything like that?" 

"Just what you've seen," I explained. 

"We're running short already. I should make a run into town." 

"Not the place Shane went?" Rick asked. 

"No, there's a pharmacy just a mile down the road. I've down it before." 

"See our man there in the baseball cap?" Rick pointed to Glenn. "That's Glenn, our go-to-town expert. I'd ask him along just to be cautious." 

"He's smart and fast. Can't go wrong," I said, going to my bag to gather up supplies to go with Daryl. 

"Daryl. You okay with Paisley?" 

Daryl nodded. "I know that Paisley can take care of herself. We'll be back before dark." 

"Hey. We got a base. We can get this search properly organized now." 

"You got a point or are we just chatting?" 

"My point is it lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anything." 

I saw Daryl glanced my way as I pulled on an a green arm jacket. "My other plans fell through."

"Ready?" I asked, putting my backpack on. 

"Yeah. Be careful," Rick told me. 

"Don't worry, big brother." 

I patted him on the chest as we headed out. "Sophia!" I shouted. 

"Sophia!" Daryl shouted. "If you were her, where would you go?"

"Um...I guess I would try to find a tree to climb to see what I could see."

Daryl smirked in surprised. "You climb trees?"

"I used to. It was a way to escape Rick and Shane." 

"So...You and Shane?" Daryl said. 

"Nothing...He's like another big brother."

"You and Glenn?" 

"Seriously? He's like my best friend," I snorted. "It's not like he's tried. I turned him down."

"Why?" 

I shrugged. "I don't know...I guess it didn't seem right. I see him more like a friend." I stopped when a walker came into view. Daryl raised his crossbow. "Is it hard to shoot it?" I asked. 

"Wanna learn?" he asked, holding it out to me. 

"Really?" I asked, grinning. "Okay." I grabbed it. "Fucking shit! It's heavy!" 

"You have a mouth on you," he commented. "Lift it up, rest it against your chest." 

I gave him a look, and did as he instrusted. "Like this?"

"Yeah. Rest this part against your shoulder." 

"Okay." 

He stepped behind me a bit, repositoning my hands, causing me to shiver. "Slid this hand forward to support the bow...Use your other hand to pull the trigger."

"Okay..." I nodded. 

Daryl knotched the arrow. "Pull the string back to knotch it."

I did, feeling excited and powerful. "Line up your shot..." 

I turned my head, seeing the walker. "Aim...And...fire!" 

I pulled the trigger, seeing it hit the walker in the head. "Oh my god! I did it!" 

"Good shot!" he said. We high fived each other, as our hands stayed there for a moment as we both sobered up. "Now, we gotta get the arrow." 

"Okay," I nodded, handing the weapon back. 

I walked over, and retrieved the arrow. "Here..." 

He took it back, and our hands brushed against each other. "We should keep moving," he said of a sudden. 

My heart was pounding. "Yeah," I whispered, following him. 

My eyes were trained on his back as I worked out my internal dilemna. Believe it or not...I was starting to have feelings for Daryl. Truth was that I missed him when I was here with Rick and Lori. I wondered what he was doing, what he was thinking about...Daryl Dixon...He was a mystery to me. And that made me intrigued. It made me drawn to him. We were so different, but that's what I liked the most about him. Daryl stopped when we came to a bush of flowers. "Those are pretty," I commented as he bent down to cut a couple off. 

He smiled as he held a few. "They're Cherokee Roses. Legend has it is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer;asked for a sign to uplift the mother's spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this Rose started to grow right where the mothers tears fell."

"That's so sad," I commented, as he stood up. 

"Maybe it will give Carol hope, you know?"

I smiled. "I think she'll really appreciate it that." He tucked a flower behind my ear, letting his hand linger as stroke a lock of my hair. We both leaned in, but he stopped before anything could happen. "Something wrong?" I asked. 

He shook his head. "No."

My eyes widened as he widened and started to head back towards the farm. "Really? Because I thought you were about to kiss me." 

"I don't want to talk about it."

I stopped him. "Well, I do...Daryl, I'm not against it..." He tried to walk away, again. "Stop...Just...Can you just talk to me?" 

Daryl growled. "You...We're..." He huffed and stalked over to me. Taking my face in his hands, he angled my head, placing his lips on mine. My eyes instantly closed, but as soon as the kiss began it ended as he walked away. 

I went back to the house, passing Daryl and Carol. I found Glenn and collasped down my back as he stared at the clouds. "Hi...How was your day?"

"I slept with Maggie," Glenn told me mutely. 

My mouth dropped open. "Way to go, Rhee! How was it?"

"It was...I like her. I also almost died trying to get a walker from one of the wells. How was your day?"

"I learned how to shoot Daryl's crossbow, and then he kissed me."

"It's about damn time," Glenn smirked. 

"Excuse me?" I asked, lifting my head up. 

"Since day one, you two have been at each other's throats. We've all put bets in when you two would jump each other." 

"You did not..." I scoffed. 

"We did...I already lost, and so has T-Dog. Even Merle put in a bet. He had the longest, followed by Shane. Andrea, Dale, and Carol are are about to lose. But Lori wouldn't want to do it." 

"That's so wrong..." I muttered. "I don't know what it is about him, but I really like him, Glenn. He's...He's different than the normal guys I would date. I even told him my deepest darkest secret. A secret that only Rick and Shane know. Not even Lori knows!" Then I sighed. "But he ran away." 

Glenn took my hand and squeezed as I sighed again. If Daryl didn't want to be with me, then fine...I could be okay by myself. 


	13. Imaginary Feelings

"Morning," Daryl greeted as I poured myself a cup of instant coffee. 

"Morning," I replied, quickly grabbing some toast and walking away. 

"Paisley...Can we at least talk?"

"About what? You made your feelings perfectly clear."

"Well, you don't have to act like a bitch."

I whirled around. "I asked for you to talk about it! But you clearly don't care for my feelings or about us!" 

He stopped me, pulling me towards the barn with horses. "You know how I feel about you."

"No...I don't. You kissed me and you ran away."

"I ran away because I know that this won't work out!" 

"How do you know?"

"Because in the normal world we won't even have spoken more than two words to each other."

"Well, we're not in that world no more. In the normal world? Sure. We might not have even met. But we don't live in a normal world. We live in a world where the dead come back to life and eat people. My brother got shot on duty and I thought that he was dead, but he came back. My nephew got shot. Bad shit happens in this world, so maybe I want to find somebody to be with so it won't be so fucking shitty. And maybe I want that person to be you."

Daryl sighed, closing his eyes hard. "You don't get it! You went to college. You had the perfect life. Your brother's a cop! I'm just the lowlife redneck with a record." 

My eyes narrowed. "Is that what you think I care about? My college degree means nothing anymore. It's not like Rick can arrest you! Besides...I think he'll be okay."

"With this?" he asked. 

I nodded. "With us...He's always been protective, but he want's to see me happy. Either way, Daryl, I'm a grown woman. I'm not some lovesick teenager. If I want something, I go and take it. And I know what I want. So maybe you should figure out what you want." 

I turned and left the barn. I saw Glenn sitting on the porch of the house as Maggie went back inside. "Hey..." he grinned. But when he saw my face, his own face fell. "You okay? You look pissed."

"I'm mad at Daryl for being a coward about his feelings. How's your love life?" 

"Well, Maggie doesn't want to have sex with me again. I did get a box of condoms."

"At least you're using protection," I snorted. "Imagine bringing a kid into this world. It's bad enough with Carl and Sophia. I mean...Carl got shot and Sophia is still missing." 

Glenn looked down. "Glenn...Do you need me to give you and Maggie a sexual education course?"

"Not me..."

"Then who? I know it ain't Carol. And I know it ain't Andrea. Baby Beth seems to wholesome. That would leave...Oh my god!" 

"Don't Paisley! She'll kill me, I'll come back, and then she'll kill me again!'

"Lori!" I shouted, running over to her. I grabbed her arm, taking her out of ear shot as Glenn followed us. "You're pregnant?!"

"You told her?!" Lori hissed turning on Glenn.

"He didn't. I was teasing him about Maggie, and he stiffened up. Glenn has a tell. Bye, Glenn." Glenn sighed and walked off. "So, who's the dad?"She froze, but Rick came over. I walked out, and grabbed my gun from the arsenal. I needed to shoot something to keep my mind off of everything. 

* * *

Daryl continued on the trail, heading towards the river, his mind on Sophia and Paisley. Her words gotten under his skin again. _What did he want? Why was he still here?_ Seeing a familiar doll, he jumped off of the horse to retrieve it. "Sophia!" he shouted. He jumped back on the horse, and continued to follow the river. The horse began to get uneasy. "Whoa. Easy, easy." He made kissing noises, as he leaned forward to get the horse moving again. He saw the snake as the horse did, the horse whinning as it hissed. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" he shouted. The horse reared up and he went tumbling of the horse, and down the hill into the small creek. "Son of a bitch..." he groaned, holding his side. Looking down, he saw one of his arrows stuck in his side. He sat up, and grunting in pain. He ripped off of his sleeves, and tied them together and tied it around his waist as a tornauet. Realizing that he was missing his crossbow, he used a stick as a crutch. He headed towards the water. When he could feel the familiar shape, he dunked his head under, grabbing it. He strapped it across my back again, and headed towards the hill. He got halfway up, leaning against the cruch. "Oh, come on. You've done half. Stop being such a pussy. Come on," he ordered, going to grab a tree to help him him up. His grip slipped, and he went falling backwards. 

"Why don't you pull that arrow out, dummy? You could bind your wound better," he heard. He opened his eyes, seeing his older brother leering down at him. 

"Merle," Daryl sighed. 

"Because he would probably bleed out before he got to the others...Dumbass," Paisley mumbled. 

"What's going on here? You taking a siesta or something?" 

"Having a shitty day, bro." 

'Like me to get your pillow? Maybe rub your feet?" 

Daryl grunted, sitting up. "Screw you." 

'Huh-uh. You're the one screwed from the looks of it. All them years I spent trying to make a man of you, this is what I get? Look at you. Lying in the dirt like a used rubber. You're gonna die out here, little brother. And for what?" 

"A girl. They lost a little girl." 

"So you got a thing for little girls now? Or is it the loud mouthed brown haired nurse you got a thing for?" 

"Shut up," Daryl hunted. 

"'Cause I noticed you ain't out looking for old Merle no more. Instead you're cozying up to the cop's sister!" 

"Tried like hell to find you, bro." 

"Like hell you did. You split, man. Lit out first chance you got." 

"You lit out. All you had to do was wait. We went back for you. Rick and I and Paisley...we did right by you," Daryl argued back. 

"This the same Rick that cuffed me to the rooftop in the first place? Forced me to cut off my own hand? This him we're talking about here? You his bitch now?" 

"I ain't nobody's bitch," Daryl growled. 

"Or are you her bitch now? You're a joke is what you are, playing errand boy to a bunch of pansy-asses niggers and democrats." Merle chuckled. "You're nothing but a freak to them. Redneck trash. That's all you are. They're laughing at you behind your back. She's probably screwin' that China Man while you're lying here dying...You know that, don't you? I got a little news for you, son. One day they gonna scrape you off their heels like you was dogshit. Hey. They ain't your kin, your blood. Hell, you had any damn nuts in that sack of yours,y ou'd got back there and shoot your pal Rick in the face for me. Now you listen to me. Ain't nobody ever gonna care about you except me, little brother. Ain't nobody ever will. Not Rick, and not certainly that girl! Come on, get up on your feet before I have to kick your teeth in. Let's go!" 

Daryl's eyes opened, and saw a walker trying to eat his boot. Panicking he brought his other boot up, kicking him off. He tried to reach for his crossbow, but couldn't reach it as the walker climbed onto him. He punched him several times, rolling on top of him. The walker rolled back ontop of him, but Daryl threw him off. Daryl stood up, and grabbed a tree branch, knocking the walker down. He jumped on the walker, using the tree branch to keep him down by the throat. He shifted his grip, and brought it down on its head once, twice, and then three times. Finally, he stabbed it with the end. Just when he thought it was over, he heard and saw another one quickly approaching. Daryl quickly rolled onto his pack, and carefully pulled the arrow through his side. He grabbed his crossbow, sticking the arrow in his mouth. He braced the crossbow on his feet as he tried to pull the string to cock it. He finally made it, placing the arrow in the holder, and leaned back. Once the fucker was right in front of him, he let the arrow go. He collapsed down as the walker fell right next to him. 

He sat up, and instead of seeing Merle, he saw an angel. She took the his shirt, making a pad to hold it against his wound. She tied it around his waist, tieing it tightly, making him grunt. "Seriously? You just killed two fucking walkers injured, and you are being a wimp about bandaging your side."

He smirked at her. She looked like she normally did. Daisy dukes, thigh high stockings, muscle tank, and a overshirt. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, just like the way he liked it. "Now, I know I'm really going crazy...You're here."

Dream Paisley smiled at him. "Or I'm a part of your subconscious because you can't stop thinking about me."

"Son of a bitch was right." 

"About this...Do you know why I was so angry at you? Because I want you to fight for me, Daryl. You're fighting so hard for Sophia. I want you to fight for us...Because I'm all in if you are." 

She smiled at him. She vanished and Daryl sighed. He killed a squirell, ate it raw for energy, and cut off the walkers ears to make a trophy necklace. He headed towards the hill and began to climb up. He got halfway, and he sat, resting against a tree. Around him, there were birds calling to each other. "Please, don't feed the birds," Merle laughed. "What's the matter, Darylina? That all you got in you? Throw away that purse and climb." 

Daryl grunted. "I liked it better when you was missing." 

Merle laughed. "Come on, don't be like that. I'm on your side." 

"Yeah? Since when?" 

"Hell, since the day you were born, baby brother. Somebody had to look after your worthless ass." 

"You never took care of me. You talk a big game but you was never there. Hell, you ain't here now. Guess some things never change." 

"Well, I'll tell you what-I'm as real as your Chupacabra." 

Daryl growled out. "I know what I saw." 

"And I'm sure them shrooms you ate had nothing to do with it, right?" 

"You'd best shut the hell up!" 

"Or what? You're gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me? Well, come on and do it then, if you think you're man enough. Hey, kick off them damn high heels and climb, son!" Mere laughed. "You know what? If I were you I'd take a pause for the cause, brother. 'Cause I just don't think you're gonna make it to the top. Come on. Come on, little brother. Grab your friend Rick's hand...Or that girl's." 

Daryl grunted, finally reaching the top. He made it...Merle was gone. He was alive. _I'm all in if you are..._ He lifted his crossbow up, and headed back towards Paisley. 

* * *

"On the lookout?" Rick asked as I sat in a camp chair with my shotgun at my side. 

"I wasn't feeling the whole Becky Homeky thing like Lori and Carol. Pop a squat, big bro. What's going on?"

Rick smiled softly at me and sat in another chair. "Shane wants me to give up the search for Sophia."

"I mean...I grew up with having two cops as family members. I heard your stories. But that's not hope for Carol or any of us." 

"He wants us to continue to Fort Benning."

"What if it's like the CDC? Then what?" I asked. He shifted. "Rick, believe it or not, you're our leader. Since day one, you've had people's ear. You fought by your self to get back to us. And things weren't always perfect before you came. We had to fight like hell to get out of the city. It was burning, and they dropped napalm down. If I had to take you or Shane...I would take you in a heartbeat." 

He smiled. "Thanks, Paise."

"You should know something...The others have a bet on when me and Daryl are going to hook up."

"Wait, what?" Rick asked. 

"I know. It's ridiculous, right?"

"Maybe that's why Carl asked you about if you two were together."

"I don't know what we are...But lately? I can't get him out of my mind. Maybe it was being forced to ride hours on hours with him in a car, or sharing a room with him at the CDC. But...I kinda like him...A lot."

"You've never really dated anybody...Since that day."

I nodded. "I know...I have my walls, and he has his. But there's something about him...He's different than anybody else that I've known. He treats me as an equal, he fights back, and he doesn't mind that I curse a lot or that I can fight my own battles. I told him...about you know."

Rick blinked. "Wow...You must really like him."

"I do...But he's taking the cowards way out, which pisses me off."

"You've always liked a challenge," RIck smirked. "Shane and I told you you couldn't do something, you went and did it anyway."

"Like when I couldn't win a blue ribbon in a shooting competion over you and Shane?"

"You sure showed us," Rick laughed. 

"Ha!" I laughed.

"You know...You could do worst."

"Oh god..." I moaned, chuckling. 

"I mean it...I've met some real criminals, and I can tell that Daryl is not one of them. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Isn't it worth the risk? Look at you and Lori. You're marriage was shit, but you found a way back to each other. You're heart got broken by her many times. In fact, I remember a time when I hated her. I'm willing to take the risk. I'm not a little kid anymore Rick. I'm not that naive teenager fresh in college who got raped at a college party. I survived. I've killed Walkers, and I've survived. I'm a survivor."

He smiled, brushing a piece of my hair out of my face. "You're right...You've seen and done so much. I'm okay with it. Doesn't mean that I'm going to go easy on him."

"I wouldn't expect less," I teased. 

"Walker. Walker!" Andrea shouted from the top of the RV. 

I shot from my chair, grabbing my shotgun, and pointing it at the moving figure. "Just the one?" Rick asked. 

I lowered it. "Yeah. Probably a straggler than that herd." 

"I bet I can nail it from here," Andrea called out, pointing the gun. 

"No, no, Andrea. Put the gun down," Rick told her. 

"You'd best let us handle this," Shane told her, coming to join us. 

"Shane, hold up. Hershel wants to deal with walkers." 

"What for, man? We got it covered." 

"Damn it..." Rick hissed, running over. 

We all raced out towards the moving figure. 

"Is that Daryl?" Glenn asked. 

"Oh god..." I moaned, freezing. 

Rick had his gun in his hand, lifting it up. I lifted my own gun up. "That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head. You gonna pull the trigger or what?" 

Then there was a gunshot and he collasped. "Daryl!" I called out, rushing over to him. 

"No! No! No!" Rick called out, as he rushed over to him. 

"Rick!" Lori shouted, rushing out. 

"What on earth's going on out here?" Hershel asked. 

"I was kidding," Daryl grunted out, passing out. 

I inspected his head, seeing only a graze. "He's grazed...But his side..." I said, as Shane and Rick helped him up. 

"Come on," Rick grunted, dragging him towards the house. 

"Oh my god. Oh my god, is he dead?" Andrea asked, shocked as her and Dale came running over. 

I glared at him as I followed them. "He's fucking unconcious, you fucking bitch! What the fucking hell were you thinking!"

"Easy, Paisley," Rick told me.

"But look at him. What the hell happened? He's wearing ears..."

Rick snatched the ear necklace off of him, stuffing it in his pocket. "Let's keep that to ourselves." 

"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" T-Dog asked, showing us the rag doll. 

Inside, I was angrily, stitching the wound on his side while Hershel was preparing antibiotics. "You're a fucking idiot, Daryl," I muttered, finishing the stitches, and looked at Hershel for approval. 

Daryl glanced at me and looked at Rick."I found it washed up on the creek bed right there. She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere," Daryl explained, holding gauze to his head. 

"Cuts the grid almost in half," Rick said hopeful. 

Daryl snorted. "Yeah, you're welcome." 

"How's he looking?" 

"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly," Hershel said, handing me a syringe and a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. I cleaned the area on Daryl's forearm, sticking it, maybe a little too hard. "Any idea what happened to my horse?" 

"Yeah, the one who almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country." 

We call that one Nelly ,as in Nervous Nelly. I could have told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask. It's a wonder you people have survived this long." He handed me a gauze pad, and I taped it to Daryl's side, and went to clean the wound on his head. 

I cleaned and bandaged it and went to clean up. I went to grab a bite of dinner, still pissed at Andrea and Daryl when Carol smiled at me. "Paisley? He wants to see you."

I sighed, and went back upstairs. "You wanted to see me?"

I went to check on the wound on his side, making sure it was free of infection. "Yeah...I wanted to tell my doctor what happened."

"Oh, so I'm your doctor now," I scoffed sitting down on the bed, to clean the excess drainage. "Well, as your doctor, what you did was incredibly stupid. Stealing a horse, going off by yourself. You're lucky you didn't die!" 

"I almost did. I blacked out, and I thought I saw Merle. He kept going on and on about our brotherhood and he talked about you." 

"Oh yeah?" I asked, re-bandaging his side. 

"Yeah. He said that none of you cared for me. Then I woke up to a walker chewing on my boot. Killed him with a tree branch, and killed another with the arrow that stuck in my side. Then you were there...You said that you wanted me to fight for you...Like I was fighting hard for Sophia. And I got to thinking...Maybe you were right."

"About what?" I asked quietly. 

He grunted and sat up. "About us...Hearing Merle talk...I started to see that you were different. You...You're a survivor. You've been through hell, and yet you're still here. You're the only one that really talks to me, calls me on my bullshit...Hell, you've even played nurse to me a time or two. None other girl has ever done that...No one is like you." His hand touched my ponytail, pulling it out. "But I'm not a good man, Paisley, and you deserve so much better than I can offer you." 

I smirked, scotting closer. "The way I'm looking at it, you can offer me things just fine. You know how to hunt, build a fire, build a shelter...In this world, that's better than gold or riches." 

He smirked, gripping my hair in a fist. "So, Princess? We doing this, thing? You're going to able to handle it?"

"Are you?" I challenged. 

"I don't know...But I'm damn sure going to give it a try." 

My head moved, my lips touching his. Unlike the first kiss, this time was slower and so much better. My hands touched his bare chest, as his hands cradled my face. We pulled back when we could no longer breath. He was panting slightly. "See, Dixon? You couldn't handle it," I whispered. 

"Shut up," he smirked. "It's my damn side...It hurts like hell."

"Didn't you take the pain medication?" I asked, one of my hands moving to stroke the back of his neck. 

"I didn't like the way it made me feel. But this...This will do."

I smiled, and leaned into kiss him again. This time, the kiss was so much quicker and harder. He pushed me down, leaning over me. Our hands explored each other through our clothes that were on. He stopped, wincing. "Fuck..." he whispered. 

"Maybe we should do this when you don't have stitches in your side," I told him, pushing him down. "You need rest." 

"You gonna stay or what?' he asked when I moved to climb out of bed. 

I smiled. "You know...I like challenges." 


	14. Secrets

The next morning, I woke up next to Daryl. I smiled as I stretched. "Good morning," he whispered huskily. 

"Good morning," I smiled back, cuddling close to him. Our lips met and I smiled into the kiss. "Not so bad, Dixon." He chuckled and winched. I sat up, pushing the sheets down to my feet. "Let me see." 

I lifted the gauze away, seeing that he was healing nicely. "How's it look, Doc?" he asked. 

"Not bad...You're healing nicely. You know that you really could've died. You couldn't bled out, gotten bit, gotten an infection..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know. How's my melon?"

I removed that gauze. "Healing also. I can't believe Andrea shot you."

"Thought it was your brother...For stepping on his baby sister."

"Oh no...We had a talk right before you showed up. He knows that I can take care of myself." I grabbed the nearly empty tube of antibiotic cream, placing a small amount on his head. "So, anything I can get you?"

"Yeah...Out of this bed. I would feel more comfortable in my tent." 

"Okay...Let's go. Did you know that the others have a bet going on when we would hook up?"

Daryl laughed. "Ha! Jokes on them! We didn't have sex!" 

"No, we didn't," I said, as we headed outside. 

We headed down the stairs, where everybody was enjoying breakfast. "Hey. This is not that great, but..." Andrea began to say. 

"What, no pictures?" Daryl asked sarcastically. 

"I'm so sorry. I feel like shit." 

"Yeah, you and me both." 

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but if there's anything I can do..." 

"You were trying to protect the group. We're good. But hey, shoot me again,a nd you'd best pray I'm dead."

"Did you two...sleep together?" Glenn asked, looking at me and Daryl.

We both looked at each other. "With Princess here? Gross...I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole."

"Gross, Glenn...What's wrong with you?" I asked, smacking his head. 

He smiled as I winked at him, grabbing a plate of eggs. After I ate, I watched the others go outside to go practice shooting. "I need to talk to you," Glenn told me, dragging me outside. 

"What up?" I asked when we went outside to a middle of the field. 

"They'res walkers in the barn!" 

My eyes widened. "Say that again?" 

"Hershel...He's keeping fucking walkers in the barn, Paise! Maggie's been bribing me with food to keep my trap shut!" 

"Then why did you tell me?!" I hissed. 

"Because you're my best friend!" he hissed back. "What do I do..."

"I-I-I don't know. Have you told Dale?"

He blinked. "That's actually a good idea. I thought you would tell me to tell Rick."

"Rick doesn't want to leave without finding Sophia. Shane already wants to jump ship. Just...Sit on it...Don't break, Rhee. You hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Jesus Christ, Rhee. First, it's the drama with Daryl. Then, it's Lori, and now this?" 

"Sorry..." Glenn called out as I called away. 

Lori stopped me as I headed inside. "I need to talk to you."

"This is the weirdest thing that I've done," I sighed, grabbing my blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. "I hate keeping secrets, by the way."

Lori sighed as I placed the cuff around her arm, and placed her arm and placed the ear pieces of my stethoscope in my ear. When I was done, I grabbed a journal and wrote the readings and the date. "I know...I-I don't know what to do." 

"Well, if you're going to go through with this, then you need to eat more. I saw you deny Glenn's shares this morning. He's right, Lor. You're too skinny. I also know the troubles you had when you were pregnant with Carl." 

"What if I want to...terminate it?" Lori asked. 

I sighed. "The safest way would be the morning after pill...But it's not a guarantee based depending on how far along you are." 

"Jesus Christ..." Lori breathed in. 

"I'm sorry, Lori." 

I kept a low profile that day. If Lori was pregnant...I headed up to Hershel's office, and knocked on the door. "Paisley...Please come in." 

"Hi...So, I know that you want us to leave...But I was thinking...You know so much for only being a vet. Can you teach me?" 

He smiled. "Sure...Have a seat." 

Later that night, I headed back outside, and crawled into Daryl's tent where he was sleeping. "Hey," he grumbled as I crawled over to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, snuggling into his side. I kissed his chest and relaxed. "You okay?"

"No...Lori's pregnant, and she's keeping the baby. She told me before I headed over here." 

"How is that going to work?"

I sighed. "I don't know...I just had a crash course in basic medical school from a veterinarian. Her pregnancy with Carl...It was good. If I learn all that I can before we leave, then maybe I can help." 

"You'll figure it out," he muttered, kissing my head and stroking my back. 

"Keep doing that...It's helping," I sighed, slowly falling asleep. 

* * *

The next morning all hell broke loose. Rick came over as we were eating our breakfast in our makeshift camp site. "Hey. Where'd you go?" Lori asked. 

Rick smiled at her. "I'm here."

Glenn paced, and finally walked over to us. "Um, guys. So...the barn is full of walkers."

Everybody went deadly silent, dropping our silverware. "Say that again?" Shane asked. That's how we all stood outside the barn, hearing them moaning and growling. "You cannot tell me you're all right with this,"

Rick shook his head. "No I'm not, but we're guests here. This Isn't our land." 

"This is our lives!" Shane shouted. 

"Lower your voice," Glenn told him. 

"We can't just sweep this under the rug," Andrea told them. 

"It ain't right. Not remotely. Okay, we've either got to go in there, we've got to make things right or we've just got to go. Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time-" Shane began to say. 

"We can't go," Rick said. 

"Why, Rick? Why?" 

Carol stepped forward. "Because my daughter is still out there." 

"Okay. Okay, I think It's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility." 

"We're not leaving Sophia behind," Rick told him. 

"I'm close to finding this girl. I just found her damn doll two days ago," Daryl said. 

Shane scoffed. "You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll." 

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about." 

"Hey," I said, pushing him back a bit. 

"I'm just saying what needs to be said. You get a good lead, it's in the first 48 hours."

"Shane, stop," Rick said, his voice harder. 

"Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming all method out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction."

"Hey!" I shouted, as pushing him back.

Shane pushed me back, causing Rick Rick to shove him harder. "Back off!" 

"Keep your hands off me!" Shane shouted. 

"Then keep you hands off of her! Now just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out," Rick said. 

"What are you gonna figure out?!" 

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land," Rick explained. 

"Hershel sees those things in there as people-sick people-his wife, his stepson," Dale informed us. 

"You knew?" 

Dale nodded. "Yesterday I talked to Hershel." 

"I knew too. I'm the one that told Glenn to talk to Dale," I admitted. 

"And you waited the night?" Shane asked. 

"I thought we could survive one more night. We did. I was waiting till this morning to say something. But Glenn wanted to be the one." 

After breakfast was over, I grabbed one of the medical books Hershel lent me and sat next to Carl. "What are you reading, Aunt Paisley?" 

I smiled. "Just some medical books from Hershel. I figured that I should know some more stuff." 

Lori smiled. "Go back to your problems, baby." 

"Does Shane think Sophia's dead?" Carl asked us. 

Lori and I shared a look. "Shane's just scared, bud. We all are," I told him. 

"Of the walkers in the barn?" Carl asked. 

Lori nodded. "Yeah." 

"Mom, I'm not leaving until we find Sophia. And I don't want to go even after that." 

"Well, we're not leaving, Carl. You finish those problems." 

"I just think she-she's gonna like it here. This place, it could be a home."

"Paisley! Daryl's trying to leave!" Carol said, rushing over to stop Daryl. 

"That stupid fucking idiot," I growled. 

"You can't!" she shouted, rushing after him. 

"I'm fine," he called out. 

"Daryl Dixon! You get your redneck stupid ass back over here!" I called out out. "You need to heal!" 

"Yeah, I don't care!" he called out. 

"Well, I do. Rick's going out later to follow the trail," Carol explained. 

"Yeah well, I ain't gonna sit around and do nothing." 

"No, you're gonna go out there and get yourself hurt even worse. We don't know if we're gonna find her, Daryl. We don't. I don't." 

"What?" 

"Can't lose you too."

Daryl groaned, holding his side. 

"Are you all right?" 

"Just leave me be. Stupid bitch." He limped back over towards me. 

"You're the stupid bitch," I told him, lifting his shirt up. "You popped one of your stitches. Idiot. Come on..." 

I led him back to his tent where I removed the gauze from his side. "You're mad..." he sighed. 

"Yeah...What you did was a dick move...You honestly deserve this..." I told him, fixing the stitches. 

"You're getting really good at that."

I smiled a bit. "Hershel said I'm a quick learner. But seriously...You were an ass to Carol. That poor woman has been through hell. I know you were trying to help, but you'll do more harm than good."

He sighed, as I rebandaged him. He grabbed my head by the back of my hair, kissing me hard. "Mmm...What was that for?"

"Everything." 

"Well, keep doing that," I said, straddling his lap. 

He moaned in pain and pleasure. "You're one cruel woman."

"Shut up, Dixon," I giggles, kissing him again. 

"As you wish," he smirked. 

We all convenyed in the field, and Daryl walked over to me, placing a kiss on my lips for all to see. "Well, what was that for?" 

"You really got to ask?" he asked. "I guess I'm feeling hopeful."

I noticed everybody's eyes on us. "Well, the cat's out of the bag...No going back now, Dixon. You really want to do this?"

"Is that a challenge?" he asked. 

I nodded, grinning as I lopped my arms over his neck. "Yeah." 

"Challenge accepted."

I grinned, kissing him again. "Okay perverts! We both know that y'all had a bet going. But considering money is useless..." 

"I win!" Andrea shouted. 

"Yay, for Andrea! So, why did Shane call us out there?" I asked. 

"Do you know what's going on?" T-Dog asked Andrea. 

Andrea shook her head. "Where is everyone?" 

"You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn asked. 

"He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago," Andrea explained. 

"Yeah you were. What the hell?" Daryl asked. 

Carol looked confused as well. "Rick told us he was going out." 

"Damn it. Isn't anybody taking this seriously? We got us a damn trail," Daryl grunted. Shane stalked over, holding a bag of guns. "Oh, here we go. What's all this?" 

"You with me, man?" Shane asked. 

Daryl glanced at me, and then nodded. "Yeah." 

Shane stalked over to Andrea. "Time to grow up. You already got yours?" 

"Yeah. Where's Dale?"

"He's on his way." 

"Thought we couldn't carry," T-Dog said as he was handed a gun. 

"We can and we have to. Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't. How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?" Glenn glanced at Maggie, and then took the gun. "That's it. Can you shoot?" 

Maggie didn't take the gun. "Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

I took my my gun, sticking it in my hip holster and grabbed the shotgun I've been carrying. 

"We have to stay, Shane," Carl said as he and Lori came over. 

Lori looked at him. "What is this?" 

"We ain't going anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He - well, he's gonna have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right? Huh?" He placed a gun in little Carl's hands. "Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the the gun and do it." 

"Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make," Lori said as I made my way over to my nephew, taking the gun from him and sticking it in my pants. 

"Not today, Little Man," I told him. 

"Oh shit," T-Dog suddenly said. 

We turned to see Rick and Hershel holding onto walkers by sticks and Jimmy clapping to lead lead. 

"What is that? What is that?" Shane asked himself, running. 

We all took off after him. 

"Shane!" I shouted. 

"What the hell are you doing?!" Shane shouted as we got to them. 

"Shane, just back off!" Rick grunted. 

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked. 

" Are you kidding me?! You see?! You see what they're holding onto?!" Shane asked. 

"I see who I'm holding onto!" Hershel shouted back over the growling of the walkers. 

"No, man, you don't!" 

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk!" 

"What you want to talk about, Rick?! These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead! Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us!" 

"Shane, shut up!! 

"Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?" 

We all ducked as Shane shot the walker that Hershel was holding mulitple times. 

"No! Stop it!" Rick shouted. 

"That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still coming?" He shot at it again. "That's it's heart, it's lungs. Why is it still coming?" 

"Shane, enough!" Rick shouted. 

"Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough." Shane took the kill shot and Hershel went to his knees in shock. "Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough. Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now."

"Shane!" I shouted as he raced towards the barn. 

It was chaos as Shane started to undo the barn. "Take the snare pole. Hershel, take the snare pole. Hershel, listen to me, man, please. Take it now. Hershel! Take it!" Everybody was shouting in fear. "No, Shane. Do not do this, brother. Wait!" 

"Don't do it!" Glenn shouted. 

"Rick!" Lori shouted. 

"Please!" Rick shouted. 

"Come on. Come on, we're out here!" Shane shouted to the barn. 

"This is not the way! Please!" Rick begged. 

"Lori..." I breathed out, pushing her back. 

Lori nodded, pushing Carl behind her. "Get behind me." 

Shane finally got the bar off the barn, and pointed his gun. "Come on."

One by one, walkers came filling out, with Shane taking the first shot. "Shit..." I sighed, lifting my shotgun to shoot. 

Glenn joined us, most of us shooting until all the walkers were dead on the ground. I let out a breath, letting my gun drop. Dale walked over, face white in shock at what just happened. I think we all were in shock. Especially when we heard a noise coming from the barn. The moment she stepped out, and tried to hide from the sun, my heart broke. We all froze as we limped out. Carol rushed over, crying. 

"Sophia? Sophia!" Daryl caught her, both of them falling to the ground. I covered my mouth as tears filled my eyes. "Sophia. Sophia. On no. Sophia. Sophia..." Carol sobbed. 

Sophia continued to stumble her way out of the barn as we all watched in horror and sadness. "Rick..." I whispered, tears falling down my cheeks. "Do something." 

He nodded, and walked forward to do what nobody could do. He lifted his gun as she walked closer to him. My heart stopped when he pulled his trigger. Just like that...all hope was lost. And everything changed. 


	15. The Feeling of Loss

I stood frozen as I took in the carnage around me. Carol was still on the ground, sobbing as Daryl held her. Beth, Hershel's younger daughter, rushed towards a walker that was in the barn. Rick went over to her. "Shh, shh, shh. Wait, wait, wait, wait." 

"Ma..." she sobbed. 

Suddenly the walker came back to life, trying to get her. Beth screamed as I rushed to pull her away. Jimmy came over, and helped his girlfriend who collasped in his arms. I took my knife from my boot, stabbing it in the brain. 

"We've been out. We've been combing these woods looking for her and she was in there all along? You knew?" Shane asked, turning to Hershel. 

"Leave us alone," Maggie shouted. 

"Hey, Shane, just stop, man," Rick told him. 

"Get your hands off me," Shane growled out. 

Hershel seemed to be in shock. "I-" 

"You knew and you kept it from us!" 

"I didn't know," Hershel admitted. 

"That's bullshit. I think y'all knew!" 

"We didn't know!" Maggie shouted, tears in her eyes. 

"Why was she there?!" 

"Your-Otis put those people in the barn. Maybe he found her and put her in there before he was killed," Hershel explained. 

"You expect me to believe that? Do I look like an idiot?" 

"Shane, hey, hey, hey," Rick said. 

Hershel finally exploded. "I don't care what you believe!" 

"Everybody just calm down!" Rick said, trying to regain order. 

"Get him off my land!" Hershel shouted. 

"Please. No," Rick begged as Shane went over to rush towards him. 

"Let me tell you something!"

"Hey. Don't touch him! Haven't you done enough?" Maggie asked as she helped Hershel up and both of them headed towards the house. 

"I mean it- off my land," Hershel growled as they passed Rick. 

Things calmed down when I went to my sister-in-law and nephew. I hugged Carl, and kept him in my arms as he looked very heartbroken. "I thought I'd find her," Carl admitted. 

"We all did, kiddo," I sighed, kissing the top of his head. 

"I mean me-that I'd be the one. Like maybe she was hiding somewhere in a cave or a tree. She'd be safe and I'd find her and bring her back. He did the right thing, shooting her like that. I would've done it too."

Lori and I shared a look. "Dale?" Lori called out. 

"Yeah?" 

"Could you take Carl up to the house? I want you to rest," Lori told her son. 

Carl nodded. "Okay."

I kissed his head as he followed Dale. "Hey," Rick called out, grabbing his sheriff's hat he had given Carl, "you dropped that." 

After Carl and Dale left, we huddled together. "You want us to start burying?" T-Dog asked. 

"We need a service. Carol would want that," Andrea said. 

"Yeah, we all want that," T-Dog agreed. 

"Let's-let's dig a grave for Sophia, Annette and Shawn. Over by those trees," Lori said. 

"We'll need a truck to move the bodies," i SAID. 

"I'll get the keys," Jimmy said. 

"No, no. I got the truck." 

"And the others? That's a lot of digging," Jimmy said.

"We bury the ones we love and burn the rest," Andrea informed him. 

"Get to work," Lori said. 

I wandered through the field, picking wild flowers. Soon, everything was ready. "They're ready. Come on," Lori told Carol, sitting near her tent with Carol with shock. 

"Why?" 

"'Cause that's your little girl," Daryl told her gently. 

"That's not my little girl. That's some other thing. My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought...she didn't cry herself to sleep. She didn't go hungry. She didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago."

I kissed her cheek and went outside. There was a small cross where Sophia's grave was. I bent down, and replanted the flowers I uprooted. "I'm so sorry, Sophia," I whispered. 

I went into the house and went to check on Carl's wound. I headed downstairs to get him a snack, only to see Beth collapse. "Beth?!" I asked, jumping the rest of the stairs. 

"Oh my god," Maggie gasped, going over to her. "Sweetie, can you hear me? What's wrong with her?"

I found her pulse, finding it strong and steady. My mind flashed back to the traumatic incident I went through during my freshman year of college. 

"She might be in shock. Where's Hershel?" Lori asked. 

"Let's get her to her room," I said, going to help Maggie lift her up. We laid her down, and Maggie got her comfortable as Glenn came back in. 

"We can't find him anywhere," Glenn told us. 

We looked though the house, finding evidence of his disappearing act as several things were thrown haphazardly. "Your stepmother's things?" Rick asked. 

"He was so sure she'd recover. They'd just pick up where they left off," Maggie explained. 

Shane found a bottle of whiskey, seeing the date. "Looks like he found an old friend." 

"That belonged to my grandfather, gave it to dad when he died." 

"I didn't take Hershel for a drinker," I commented. 

Maggie shook her head. "No, he gave it up on the day I was born. He didn't even allow liquor in the house."

"What's the bar in town?" Rick asked. 

"Hatlin's. He practically lived there in his drinking days." 

"Betting that's where I'll find him," Rick said, grabbing his python and sticking it in his belt. 

"Yeah, I've seen the place. I'll take you," Glenn said, volunterring to go.

Rick nodded. "All right, I'll get the truck," 

"Okay." 

"N-no," Maggie stuttered. 

Glenn shrugged. "It's an easy run." 

"Like the pharmacy?" 

"Hey, Maggie?" Rick called out, chuckling. "I'll bring him back."

I followed him out. "You gonna be okay?" he asked. 

"Yeah. Are you?" 

"You know I saw this before...That night at the hospital when me and Shane picked you up."

"Which is why she needs her family and support." 

Rick hugged me and kissed my head. "I'll be back soon, Little Sister. Hold down the fort for me." 

"I will."

Maggie and Glenn came outside, and I went to hug Glenn. "Be careful, Rhee. No joyrides."

He smiled. "I won't, Paise. See you soon." I nodded. I went back to Beth, making sure that her vital signs were still holding steady, and made sure she stayed warm. 

"I got her from here," Maggie said coldly. 

I was instantly confused. "Excuse me...Did I do nothing wrong?"

"I really don't want to do this."

"Well to fucking bad! I do! I get that you've been through hell, lately, but so have I. So, say what you want to say!" 

"Fine! I think you're a slut! Going from Daryl to Glenn and back to Daryl." I froze, then bursted out laughing. "It's not funny!" 

"Y-y-yes it is!" I laughed. God, I haven't laughed like this in a very long time. Tears were welling up in my eyes as I continued to laugh. I wheezed, then finally stopped. "I'm s-s-sorry! You think that Glenn and I...are together?! I mean, it's not like we tried. But, Maggie...He's my best friend. Who do you think he talks about you to, and who I talk about Daryl to?" I continued to laugh. "Oh, I know about your romp in the pharmacy...Did you know that everybody in our group had a bet going when Daryl and I would get together? Glenn already lost. Andrea won. The thing is Maggie, Glenn is like a brother to me. He's my best friend and that's never going to change. So, stop with this petty high school crap, and let me help your fucking sister."

Maggie was shocked, then nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Us girls got to stick together. So, friends?"

She smiled and took my hand. "Friends. Have you seen this before?"

"Yeah..." I nodded. "I was raped my freshman year of high school. My body and mind just shut down. I somehow got myself to the hospital, and I called Rick and Shane. It wasn't until a week afterwards I broke down." 

I came downstairs, seeing Lori packing a small bag. "Going somewhere?"

"Yeah. Since your boyfriend refuses to go after Rick and Hershel, I'm going to go."

I grabbed the bag. "Whoa, whoa, whoa...What?"

"I asked Daryl to go after Rick and Hershel, and he blew up. I think he's angry at Sophia. Beth needs her dad."

"I know. That's why I'm going, not you."

"But-" Lori protested. 

"Lori...You're pregnant. I'm not letting you and my future niece or nephew go out there. Carl needs him mom."

"You know...Rick told me what happened to you when you came home. I noticed something was off about you...And he told me. Paisley...I'm so sorry for everything I've ever said that was cruel to you." 

I hugged her. "It's okay...I'm glad he told you. I'll go get them." 

I grabbed my bag and grabbed my handgun. I took one of the cars, and headed towards the city. The road was empty, only trees in view. I grabbed the map that Maggie supplied, checking the path. When I looked up, there was a walker int he middle of the road. I gasped, yanking the car over to the side, loosing control. The front of the car headed towards the tree. I shouted as the car hit at an angle, and went tumbling, my head hitting the dash board, and suddenly...Everything went black. 


	16. Crashed

I gasped coming to, sitting sideways in my car. I could hear something growling. Turning my head, I saw a walker trying to squeeze his head through the hole in the windshield, snapping it's teeth as it's skin got pulled off. I cried out trying to reach my gun, my breath going in ragged breaths. Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to reach it. But I couldn't. Trying a different tactic, I undid my seat belt, and I tried to climb my way out through the other window. I tried to pull myself out, but couldn't, falling back in my seat. Looking up, I saw the glass break more and the walker's hand going through the glass. I went on my hands and knees to grab my gun, but screamed when it grabbed my hair. I screamed as it hauled me up, my legs kicking. My gun dropped as I tried to break it's grip. Grabbing a shard of glass, and brought it up to where it's head was. I fell and I panted. I was not going to die like this. I was a survivor, and survivors fought. I brought my booted foot into the windshield, breaking the glass. I crawled out to see two more walkers. I kicked one, grabbing a tree branch, and beat the walker's face in it. I reached for my gun, shooting him in the face. I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder and the map. I began to head back the way I came. 

* * *

"They should've been back by now," Andrea stressed as Carol and Patrica prepared dinner. 

"Yeah. They just got holed up somewhere. We'll- we'll head out first thing in the morning." Shane cleared his throat, accepting a plate from Carol. "Thank you." Then he noticed Carl. "Carl, I want you to keep your head up, okay? Your old man, he's the toughest son of a-" 

"No cussing in the house," Patrica called out. 

"Sorry," Shane said sheepishly. 

"Paisley...Lori, dinner!" Carol called out. 

Maggie came down the stairs. "They're not in there."

"Where are they?" Dale asked, worried.

"Carl, when's the last time you saw your mom and aunt?" Shane asked. 

"This afternoon." 

"She was worried about Rick, asked me to look in in Carl," Andrea answered. 

Dale's eyes grew. "She went after them?!" 

Andrea shook her head. "She didn't say that. Where the hell is Paisley?" 

Shane grew even more worried. "Nobody panic. Gonna be around here somewhere." 

Lori came in, and Shane sighed in relief as she carried in a basket of apples. "Hey. What's going on?"

"Where the hell have you been?!" Shane asked. 

"Gathering some fruit. Why? What's going on?"

"Nothing...We just couldn't find you. Do you know where Paisley is?"

"She went to go after Rick and Hershel," Lori explained. "She's not back yet?" 

Shane shook her head. "No. Did she take a car?"

"Yeah. I gave her a map I was going to use. I was gonna go, but she stopped me and went herself. She took her handgun."

The others got up and went outside to make sure that Paisley hadn't returned and was clearing her head. "She's not here!" T-Dog called out. "The Prius is gone." 

"How far could she get?" Shane asked Maggie. 

"I don't know. She left earlier this afternoon. We had an argument, but she headed out." 

Carol was worried about the young woman. But she knew one person that would turn the earth over just to find her. "Hey!" she called out seeing Daryl sulking by his tent. "The others aren't back yet, and Lori's getting worried." 

"Yeah. That dumb bitch should go looking for them then," he grumbled. 

Carol blinked. "What?" 

"Yeah, she asked me to go. I told her I was done being an errand boy. So, if she's so worried, then tell her to fuckin' go!" 

"And you didn't say anything? Don't do this. Please. I've already lost my girl." 

"That wasn't my problem neither," Daryl grunted. 

"Lori didn't go...Paisley did. And she's not back yet." Daryl stiffened, stopping in his tracks. "I know you like her...I've seen the way you were looking at her back at camp. The way you didn't argue when she had to ride in the truck. The way you made sure she was safe at the CDC. You care for her Daryl. Don't lose her like I lost Sophia."

Carol walked away, leaving Daryl to his thoughts. So what that she left. She was a fighter. He knew that. She didn't need a baby sitter, and she didn't need him. Like everyone else he cared about, she would leave him. 

But the bitch Carol wouldn't leave him alone. "What are you doing?" he asked, whirling around. 

"God. Keeping an eye on you." 

Daryl snorted. "Ain't you a peach?" 

"I'm not gonna let you pull away. You've earned your place." 

Daryl snapped. "If you spent half your time minding your daughters business instead of sticking your nose in everybody else's, she'd still be alive!" 

"Go ahead." 

"Go ahead and what? I mean just go! I don't want you here! You're a real piece of work, lady. What, are you gonna make this about my daddy or some crap like that? Pfft! Man, you know Jack. You're afraid. You're afraid. 'Cause you're all alone. You got no husband, no daughter. You don't know what to do with yourself. You ain't my problem! Sophia wasn't mine! All you had to do was keep an eye on her!"

"And what about Paisley?!" Carol shouted. "You're just going to forget about her?! What if she's hurt?! Or attacked! What if she's like Sophia! Already dead?! Then what?! Or is she just a random one-night stand?" 

That struck a nerve in Daryl's spine. Paisley wasn't just a random girl. She was his girl. Growling, he rushed back over to his tent. He grabbed his crossbow and quiver, and his pack. He was really tired of going after this stubborn woman, but he was going to go get his girl back. 

He didn't take a horse this time, but instead took his bike. "Where he going?" Shane asked, seeing Daryl rush off. 

"He's going after Paisley," Carol explained. 

* * *

I stopped, grabbing the nearly empty water bottle, taking a tiny sip. God, it felt like I was walking in circles. I encountered more walkers on the way and was physically and mentally exhausted. I heard an engine roaring, causing me to freeze. I was about to lift my gun when I saw my knight in shining armor come roaring up on his motorcycle. Tears instantly filled my eyes, and I sagged in relief. "Daryl..." breathed out, going to give him a hug. He held me, one hand intertwining in my hair. 

"You're all right?" he asked, studying me. 

I nodded. "I'm fine." 

"You're not fine. I saw the wreck. Let me look at ya." He touched the cut on my forehead, causing me to wince.

"Ouch..." I hissed.

"What happened?" 

"Looked down at the map and hit a walker." 

Daryl sighed. "Next time stay put, you won't need a map."

"Lori was going to go if I didn't. You know that she's pregnant. I couldn't risk her. Even after she asked you."

"I know I've been an ass."

"You've been a total ass," I agreed.

"I know. I'm-I'm sorry. I-I-We spent all that time and for what? Rescuing a dead little girl?"

"Daryl...What happened to Sophia wasn't your fault. It wasn't Rick's. You've both tried to find her, and you even almost died. That little girl was the luckist in the whole world because she had you to."

"Come here," he said, pulling me into his arms. "Stop running off. I'm tired of chasing you."

I smiled into his neck. "That's half the fun. Did Rick come back yet?"

"No...Let's get you back."

"But Rick," I protested.

"He's not my priority at the moment. You are." 

I sighed, and nodded. I got on the back of his motorcycle, resting my head against his back as he headed back toward Hershel's farm. He stopped once we got there, kicking the stand on the ground. I got off, and everybody rushed over. 

"Oh my god, are you all right? What happened?" Andrea asked, giving me a hug. 

"I was in an accident. I'm fine, I'm fine," I told everybody. 

"She was attacked," Daryl explained. "Took out walkers by herself."

I smiled at his proud tone. "I really want a shower and to sleep for the rest of the day. And to eat."

"I'll bring you something," Carol volunteered. 

"Thank, Carol," I said. "So, what did I miss?"

"Well, they were worried that Lori left and I panicked," Shane explained, glancing at Lori. 

"He's my husband, Shane. If Paisley hadn't gone, I would've. She just went instead. In fact, maybe I should go out there myself." 

Shane grabbed her arm. "Lori, I will go after him. I will find him. Hey! Now look, first things first-I gotta-I gotta look after you. I gotta make sure the baby's all right, okay?"

"You're having a baby? Why didn't you tell me?" Carl asked his mom. 

Lori sighed and was about to say something, when I swayed dangerously, with Daryl steading me. "Sorry...I told you I was tired...And hungry."

"Come on. Let's make sure you're all right," Dale told me. 

"Come on." 

"Thank you," I said, starting to follow them towards the house. I saw Carl walking beside me. "Hey, kiddo. You okay?"

He smiled and nodded as Lori came over to me, giving me a hug. "Thank you for trying to go after him. I'm just sorry I caused you so much trouble."

"Don't be, Lori. We're family. We stick together." Carl snuggled to my side, and I rubbed his hair. "Hey. I am so sorry that I left without telling you." 

"It's okay. I wasn't scared. When's dad getting back?" Carl asked me. 

"Let's hope soon." 

"I wanna be there when you tell him about the baby." 

Lori sighed. "Oh, love, he already knows. We were just trying to find the right time to tell you." 

"Is it a boy or a girl?" 

Lori looked at me. "Well, we won't know that until it's born," she explained.

"Will I be able to feel it?" 

"Not for a while. You must have a lot of questions, huh?" He nodded. "We never had the talk. I guess we forgot." 

"Don't look at me. That's your father's job," Dale told him as Carl's eyes went to Dale. 

Then his eyes went to me. "Let me guess...because I'm a nurse?" 

Carl grinned. "Daryl said you're the smartest person he knows, and Daryl's pretty cool, so it must be true. Aunt Paisley?"

"Yeah?" I asked. 

"Are you and Daryl going to get married? Because it would be really cool if he was my uncle! He could teach me to track and hunt and stuff!" 

"We're still in the baby step phase, kiddo." 

Lori chuckled. "So you and Daryl, huh?"

"I know," I said, smiling a bit. "It just sorta happened."

"I can tell he really likes you. I don't know what Carol said to him, but he was running out of here like a bat out of hell." 

"Hey, Mom? If the baby's a girl, can we name her Sophia?" Carl asked. 

"That is one sweet boy," I said. 

Lori nodded. "I know. I'm just worried on what this world will him into."

"He's a survivor...We all are. We fight. And your little one too."

She smiled and I nearly collasped, but someone caught me that smelled like leather. "I got you, darlin'," Daryl whispered. 

He carried me inside, with Andrea following. "Welcome back...You look like shit!"

"I feel like shit...Can I borrow a shower?"

"Of course...And you can borrow a bed," Maggie said. "What happened?"

"Got into a car wreck because I was too busy looking at the fucking map. And fought walkers." Daryl followed me into the bathroom, where I stopped him. "I got it from here." 

I began to close the door, but a thought suddenly crossed my mind. Daryl came all the way out there just to get me. Even when he was in a pissy mood because all that he did for Sophia was in vain. I opened the door, seeing him standing there. I pulled him in, placing my lips on his as I pushed the door closed and locked it. One of his hands undid my ponytail, while the other went to my waist. I pushed off his leather vest he always wore and went to grab the hem of his shift. Daryl removed it, and pushed me against the tile wall. I ran my hand down the deep scars on his back. Daryl had muscles. While he was lean, he was also strong from hunting. I pushed back, and went to turn on the hot water. He stared at me, daring me to make the next move. I removed my shirt, and my bra. I stared at him as I brushed a stand out of my face. I removed my pants and my underwear, smirking at him as I stepped into the shower. 

I ducked my head under the hot water, and then Daryl was there, under the hot water. Our hands traveled along our wet bodies, just exploring. He finally kissed me, picking me up and pushing me against the wall. 

I gasped, kissing him again. My body erupted in pleasurable tingles withered in pleasure. I gasped and dug my nails in his shoulders as he kissed the curve of my neck. "Daryl..." I moaned. 

* * *

I yawned as I woke up from my nap, seeing Daryl laying next to me, on his back. "Hey...How long were we out?"

"Only for a couple of hours. It's dark out," he grunted, waking up. 

"Is my brother back yet?" I asked, curling into his side.

"Not that I know of." He rubbed my back. "That was..." he started to say. 

"Amazing?" 

He chuckled. "Yeah."

I looked up at him. "I really like you, Daryl."

"I really like you too, Paise. You've gotten under my skin." He placed a kiss on my nose and then grinned. "Fuck...If Merle was here, he would say that I'm getting soft."

"Nah...You're still the tough, annoying, redneck. You're just a big softie on the inside."

"You know...The first day we met, after you turned me down and told me off, he smirked. He said, 'Little Brother...That girl is something different.' He liked you."

"He did?" I asked. 

He nodded. "He said that you were as tough as he was. And you were a mean bitch and wasn't afraid of him. You're the only person that's ever told him off. He respected that."

"Most people say that I have a big mouth," I said. 

"You do. But I like that. You're not afraid to voice your opinion." 

My stomach growled. I sighed, sitting up to grab the pile of clothes that Andrea handed me before our shower/sex session. I put on my bra, and turned to look at him. "Well, that's enlightening. As much as I'm enjoying our pillow talk, darlin', I'm fucking starving."

He smiled and pulled on his clothes as well. I went to pull my hair up in a ponytail, but he stopped me. "Don't. I like it down."

"Why?" I asked, placing it back on my wrist. 

He wound his hand in my brown hair and tugged on it lightly. I smirked as my head was gently forced to look at him. "Because I can do this."

I smiled as he placed a rough kiss on my lips. I moaned, but pushed him away. "Okay...I really need to eat. This nap was nice, though and so much needed."

"And the other thing?"

"So, very much needed," I smirked. 

We headed out, but I stopped to check on Beth. "Hey...How she doing?" I asked Maggie and Patrica. 

"She's dehydrated, so I gave her an IV. How are you?" Patrica asked. 

"Better. Rested. Just hungry. Mental illness is not my strongest suit. I'm more of the blood and gore type of girl," I told them. 

I went downstairs, and went into the kitchen, finding a plate with my name on it. I heated it up in the microwave and went out to the deck to eat. Everybody in our group converged together, minus Daryl. I noticed that his tent was moved farther and farther away from everybody. Andrea and Shane were planning on going out to find Rick, Glenn, and Hershel. Andrea was talking to Dale when a car came rolling in. 

"Dad!" Carl shouted, rushing to see Rick.

I raced down and hugged him, then punched him. "What the hell happened?' 

"You're okay," Maggie breathed a sigh of relief to her dad. 

"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery. Paisley, I need you," Hershel called out. 

I nodded. "Are you hurt?" Lori asked. 

Rick shook his head, walking over to me. "No, but what happened to you?"

I winced when he touched the healing cut on my head. "I was in a car accident." 

"Accident? How?"

Lori sighed. "She went looking for you. I was going to go, but she stopped me." 

"I snuck out on my own. Only Lori knew. Daryl came and got me." 

"Are you two crazy? You could've-"

Hershel and Patricia brought out a young man from the car. "Who the hell is that?" T-Dog asked. 

"That's Randall," Glenn explained. 

The surgery was intense, but also informative with Hershel pointing things out to me. He handed me the tools, and was instructed on how to fix his leg. "How's that?" I asked, looking up at my mentor. 

He smiled. "That's really good. You have an advantage, because you know more about the human body than I do. I want to thank you for caring for Beth in my absence." 

I smiled. "No problem...I'm really sorry about what happened. Shane...He was out of line. I never wanted to participate."

"Don't be...I-I was foolish." 

"Has Rick ever told you his story?" I asked, clamping an artery. He shook his head. "He was shot in the line of duty, and was in a coma. When the world turned to shit, Shane got Lori, Carl, and me out. We met Carol, Sophia, and her abusive husband, Ed. We met the others, and set up camp. Then Daryl and his brother came into the picture. Shane told us that Rick was dead...that he didn't make it when he tried to get to him. But several weeks later, Glenn and our runners came back with what they said a new guy. It turned out to be Rick. He woke up in this new world and was confused." 

"You're not mad?" he asked, providing suction.

I shook my head. "No. You were trying to hold onto hope. Carol has peace that her daughter is not out there cold and alone. I just don't like the way it all went down." 

"This is the best we can do," Hershel explained as I stitched him up, and bandaged his leg. "Good job, Dr. Grimes." 

I grinned, proud of myself. I removed my gloves and headed out to see Rick and Glenn telling them what happened back in town. "We couldn't just leave him behind. He would've bled out, if he lived that long," Rick told us. 

"It's gotten bad in town," Glenn sighed. 

"What do we do with him?" T-Dog asked. 

"We repaired his calf muscle as best we could, but he'll probably have nerve damage. Won't be on his feet for at least a week," Hershel said. 

"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way." 

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea asked. 

"He'll have a fighting chance." 

"Just gonna let him go? He knows where we are," Shen argued. 

"He was blindfolded the whole way here. He's not a threat," Rick told him. 

"Not a threat. How many of them were there? You killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage, but they just ain't gonna come looking?" 

"They left him for dead. No one is looking." 

"We should still post a guard,: T-Dog voiced. 

"He's out cold right now, will be for hours," I said. 

"You know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy," Shane growled, grunting. "Look at this, folks-we back in fantasyland." 

Hershel stepped closer. :You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet. Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all-this is _my_ farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor- keep your mouth shut."

Hershel turned and left, causing Rick to sigh. "We're not gonna do anything about it today. Let's just cool off."

I headed towards Daryl's tent, and sat next to him. "Hey," he greeted. "Kid make it?"

"Yeah. What do you think?" I asked. 

"I don't trust easy, Princess."

"He's a kid, but I do know Glenn and he looked...troubled. Even Rick looked troubled. He said that they pulled guns on them, and they had to defend themselves." 

Daryl sighed. "Things are changing." 

"They are." 


	17. To Stay or Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: MATURE SUBJECTS

I moaned as I clutched Daryl's back as he buried his face in my neck. One good thing about Daryl pulling away from the group is that we had total privacy. Bad thing is that I was losing him. "Jesus Christ," I breathed out, as he rolled off of me. 

Daryl grunted in agreement, removing the condom. "Where did you get the rubbers?"

"Glenn...He gave them to me. He and Maggie aren't going to be doing anything soon." I sat up and grabbed my bra and undershirt. The days were getting colder. 

"What are you doing today?" Daryl asked, lighting a cigarette. 

"Those will kill you, you know," I scowled, reaching for my underwear. 

I shrieked as he pinched my ass, and reached back around to slap him. "So, what Princess? Things aren't there will kill me faster than a smoke." 

"To answer your question, I guess I'll be hanging the house, caring for Beth, holding down the fort for Rick..." 

"He and Shane already leave?" 

"Yeah. I'm worried," I admitted, looking at the redneck who layed next to me. 

"Rick can take care of himself," Daryl scoffed. 

"It's not Rick I'm worried about. It's Rick _with_ Shane. We've all seen how erratic he's been lately. The thing he did at the barn? That was out of line."

"We were all shooting."

"Maybe...but it didn't have to gone down like that. Don't think I haven't seen the way he looks at Lori. We all know that they were sleeping together. He had those scratches at the CDC. I bet you ten bucks that that he tried something with Lori. And that baby could be easily Shane's biologically. Love makes men idiots.'

"Didn't you tell Carl that all men were idiots?"

"Exactly," I smirked. I grabbed my jeans, slippign them on, followed by my socks and shoes. I grabbed my gun and sticking it in my holster. "But idiot or not...I will still be on my brother's side." 

I exited the tent, heading back up towards the house to get some breakfast. "Good morning," I greeted, grabbing some eggs. Maggie and Lori nodded at me as I grabbed another plate and headed outside. Seeing my best friend, I kicked sneaker as he wallowed. "Gah...Are you going to pull yourself together or what?" 

"I was a coward...I ran and hid! All for a stupid girl!" Glenn moaned out as he took the plate. 

"That doesn't make you cowardly," I explained. "She cares for you. And you like her." I slapped him on the back. "Man up, Rhee. You gonna let a girl like that walk away? Then you are a coward." 

I headed back inside of the house, and saw Lori looking distressed. "What's going on?"

"Beth took a knife..."

"Okay," I said, urging for more information. 

"She took a knife, and she didn't eat her breakfast." 

I sighed. "She's gonna try to kill herself."

"What do we do?" 

"I-I don't know. 15 minute checks?" I said. 

"Maybe we can give her some of your medication," Lori suggested. 

"That's for anxiety, Lori. It's not for depression. She needs a anti-depressant like a SSRI, TCA, or a MAOI." 

"There's the pharmacy..." 

"Yeah. And last time somebody went out there, I was in a car crash, and Rick, Glenn, and Hershel were attacked! It's not that easy!" 

I went back outside and made the decision. Walking over to his tent, I tapped it. "Hey...Wanna go on a quick trip to the pharmacy?"

"Why? You feeling frisky, Princess?" Daryl asked. 

I rolled my eyes. "No...It's for Beth. She needs help."

"Okay?"

"Medication help. She's on suicide watch. We going or what?" 

"I'll grab my bike," he sighed. The ride to town was quick. Entering the small pharmacy, I began to scavenge for what I could find. Finding the medication dispensing machine, I found what I was looking for. Grabbing an amber botte, I began to deposit the fluoxetine into the bottle. "Find something, Princess?" 

"Fluoxetine, also known as Prozac. Good for long term use," I said. We headed back just in time because Beth already tried and nearly suceeded. "Hey...Is she okay?" I asked, walking into the room.

Hershel nodded, eyes glazing over as he wrapped his youngest daughter's wrists. "I went out and found these," I said, sitting on the bed. "It's fluoxetine. It's an SSRI. It increases serotonin in your brain to improve your mood, okay?" Beth looked at me and nodded. "I want you to take one tablet in the morning, okay? It might take a couple of weeks for the effects to work, but that's okay. You need to watch out for serotonin syndrome, but you have an awesome dad and sister here to watch over you. And me."

"Thank you," Beth whispered. 

I smiled. "You're welcome," I said, handing her the bottle. "We'll try this for right now." 

"Thank you, Paisley," Hershel told me as I stood up. "I know what a risk it was going out." 

"It's no problem." 


	18. The Vote

So, the plan to leave the kid was a bust. But that wasn't what scared me the most. What scared me was that Rick and Shane came back, looking strained. Rick looked like that somebody had beat him and I knew it wasn't the teenager. It was somebody else. Somebody that worried me. My thoughts were broken out by the shouts from the barn. Walking over, I watched as Daryl "questioned" the man. "I told you-" Randall whimpered. 

"You told me shit!" 

"I barely knew those guys. I met 'em on the road." 

"How many in your group?" 

Randall began to whimper as Daryl came forward to punch him again and again. "Uh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Come on, man..." 

He yelped. "How many?!" Daryl shouted. 

"Uh, 30. 30. 30 guys." 

"Where?"

"Uh..." Daryl kicked the man. "I don't know. I swear. We were never anyplace more than a night!" 

"Scouting? Planning on staying local?" 

"I-I don't know. They-they left me behind." 

Daryl grabbed his hunting knife. "Did you ever pick off a scab?"

"Come on, man! I'm-I'm trying to cooperate!" 

"Start real slow at first..." 

Randall grunted as Daryl brought the knife closer. "No..." 

"Sooner or later, you've just gotta rip it off." 

"Okay. Okay," Randall stammered. "They have weapons-heavy stuff, automatics. But I didn't do anything." 

"Your boys shot at my boys, tried to take this farm. You just went along for the ride? You're trying to tell me you're innocent?"

I smiled a bit as Daryl said that we were his people. Maybe he wasn't turning away completely. "Yes!" Randall shouted, breathing heavily. "These-these people took me in. Not just guys-a whole group of 'em. Men and women, kids too-just like you people. Thought I'd have a better chance with them, you know? But...we go out, scavenge-just the men. One night we-we found this little campsite. A man and his two daughters-teenagers, you know? Real young. Real cute. Their daddy had to watch while these guys-they-and they didn't even kill him afterwards. They just-they just made him watch as his daughters--hey just-just-just left him there. No, but-but-but I didn't touch those girls. No, I swear I didn't to-" I saw red and felt sick to my stomach as I listened to him talk. My mind drifted back to that one drunken night...where I was helpless. I remembered the pain, the confusion, the feeing of him inside of me...taking away my innocence. "Please. Please. You gotta believe me, man. I'm not lie that. I ain't like that. Please. Please. You gotta believe me..."

I turned and headed out. "Paisley...Paisley!" 

I felt a hand on my arm, and I instantly started to fight. "No! Let me go!" I shouted. My mind drifted to his hands on my body. Roughly grabbing my breasts. Shoving my head into the bed...

"Paisley! It's me, Daryl! It's Daryl...." I stopped, seeing his concerned brown eyes staring at me. 

Tears welled up in my eyes. Never had I showed emotion to him. "You...You can't let them come..." I whimpered. 

"They won't," he said, wiping a fallen tear away with his thumb. "I won't let them. You're safe..." I cuddled into his side, inhaling the scent of pine trees, woods, and cigerette smoke. It was comforting, and it was Daryl. "I got ya, girl..." he whispered, rubbing my back. 

* * *

We walked back towards the house where everybody was waiting. Daryl had one protective hand on the small of my back as we walked into the kitchen, everybody's eyes turning towards us. "Boy there's got a gang, 30 men. They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women, they're gonna-" He stopped, looking at me, "-they're gonna wish they were." 

"What did you do?" Carol asked.

"Had a little chat."

"No one goes near this guy," Rick declared.

"Rick, what are you gonna do?" Lori asked.

"We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat."

"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale asked outraged.

Rick nodded. "It's settled. I'll do it today."

"You can't do this. You don't wanna do this. I know you don't."

"I thought about it all night. Knowing what we know now, I don't see a way out of it."

"But you can't just decide on your own to take someone's life."

"The group seemed supportive."

"What, because they didn't speak back? You didn't let 'em. There's gotta be a-a process!"

"And what would that be? We can't call witnesses, go before a judge..."

"So he's automatically guilty by association and sentenced to death? He's just a kid. Gimme some time to talk to everyone..."

"We can't-"

"...Try to figure out another way-"

"No, we can't drag this out. People are scared."

"Which is why they need time to discuss this!"

My head was starting to pound from going back and forth between Rick and Dale. "Hey...Come hunting with me," Daryl whispered, dragging me away. 

Daryl took me back up to his tent, where we sat in the silence as I picked the grass. "Why are you so far away?" I asked. 

"Because it's easier," Daryl admitted. 

"What are you hiding from, Dixon?" I asked. "You can ask me, you know..."

"I don't want to intrude."

"Come on...I know you're dying to. You may act like you don't care, but I know you do. I saw how angry you got when he mentioned it...the way you looked at me. Just ask."

"Who was it?"

I sighed, and looked down at my hands. "A faternity boy. It was my first year at college. I've always been one for control. I went to a party with my roommate. I got a cup of vodka and cranberry juice. One cup, turned into two, which turned into three. I'm a light weight."

"I know," Daryl smirked, remembering the time at the CDC. 

"Yeah...So I was feeling very tipsy and went to laydown. I heard somebody open up the door, but I was too out of it. I heard laughing...The next thing I remember, I could feel this guy on top of me...My mind must have recognized it, because I started to fight. But he was a lot stronger than me. I fought...I did. But he fought harder and dirtier. My mind must have shut off because the next thing I remember is that I was shoved into the bed, his hand on the back of my head to keep me down, and his hand gripping my waist. When he was done, he started to put himself back together. I slumped down onto the bed, and saw him. I instantly went on auto-pilot. I found my roommate, told her I needed to go the the hospital, and then called Rick and Shane from there. After that, I started to have panic attacks. Everywhere I went, I thought I saw him. I changed schools, went to therapy, got on my medication. But I've never forgiven him..."

"Do you think that Rick should kill him?"

"Yes," I automatically answered. "Do you?"

He was about to say something when Dale came over to us, causing Daryl to groan. "The whole point of me and my family coming up here is to get away from you people," Daryl growled. 

Dale glanced at us. "Gonna take more than that." 

"Carol send you?" 

"Carol's not the only one that's concerned about you, your new role in the group." 

Daryl groaned. "Oh man, I don't need my head shrunk. This group's broken. I'm better off fending for myself and my family." 

"You act like you don't care." 

"Yeah...It's 'cause I don't." 

"So live or die, you don't care what happens to Randall?" Dale asked him. 

"Nope." 

"Then why not stand with me, try to save the kid's life ,if it really doesn't matter one way or the other?" 

"Didn't peg you for a desperate son of a bitch," Daryl smirked. 

"Your opinion makes a difference." 

"Man, ain't nobody looking at me for nothing." 

"Paisley obviously is. Carol is, and I am right now. And you obviously-you have Rick's ears." 

"Rick just looks to Shane. Let him." 

"You cared about what happened to Sophia, cared what it meant to the group. Torturing people? That isn't you. You're a decent man. So is Rick. Shane-he's different." 

Daryl and I shared a look. "What's that? 'Cause he killed Otis?" Daryl asked. 

"He tell you that?" 

"He told some story-how Otis covered him, saved his ass. He showed up with the dead guy's gun. Rick ain't stupid. If he didn't figure that out, it's 'cause he didn't wanna. It's like I said-group's broken." Daryl left and I got up from my spot. 

"Paisley...You're a nurse! Isn't your vow to do no harm."

"Do you know what it feels like to be raped, Dale?" I spat out. "To have your control taken away like that? For somebody to violate you? Because it's worst than the movies." He looked shocked, and looked down. "No? I thought so." 

I headed back towards the farm, leaving Dale in my wake. I headed inside to check on Beth, who was doing better on the medication. Since it was sparse, we decided to cut the dose in half and have her take it every other day to save it. Hopefully, she'll be more balanced by the time she runs out. "I wanna thank you...For what you did for Beth. It really means a lot to me," Maggie said, handing me a couple of sweaters and jeans. 

"It's no problem," I smiled. 

"You didn't have to go out and get that medication. We all know that it's dangerous out there." 

"That's what people do for each other." 

"So...you and that man with the crossbow."

"Daryl," I corrected, a small smile appearing on my lips. 

"You two serious?"

"It's complicated," I said. "You and Glenn?"

"It's complicated," Maggie sighed. "You and Glenn are close. Has he said anything?" 

"Just the same old stuff. Just...give him time. He'll come around." 

I took the offered sweaters and jeans and headed back outside. I spent the rest of the day washing clothes, stitching clothes and hanging around Daryl's tent. "Hey," he gruffly said as I was sewing one of his shirts. 

"Hey...How was your hike in the woods?"

"Same old...This meeting going to start soon?" 

"Yeah," I sighed, handing him his shirt back. "Daryl...What are we doing?"

"What do ya mean?" he asked. 

"You and me. Are we together? Are we just having fun?" He said nothing. "Grr! You're so frustrating!" 

"I'm frustrating?!" 

"Yeah! One minute you're being sweet, and the next you're acting like an asshole!" 

"I'm sorry, Princess. But that's me. Take it or leave it!" 

"Like I said! Asshole! Earlier, you said 'your family'. Who do you mean by that Daryl? Because it seems that no matter how far you try to distance yourself, but you still find a way to be involved." 

"And I don't want to be involved!" 

"Well, you either are or you are not. Listen...I thought I made myself clear. I really like you, but I'm not going to waste my time with a guy who doesn't want to be 100% involved. Because Daryl Dixon...I-am-worth it." 

I smiled to myself, walking away, a slight swing to my steps. I could hear Daryl muttering behind me and could hear the smile on his face. "Damn woman's trying to kill me." 

"Let's gather up!" Rick called out. 

We gathered up in the kitchen of the Greene kitchen, the mood glum. "So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn asked. 

"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea questioned. 

"How about majority rules?" Lori suggested. 

Rick sighed. "Well, let's-let's just see where everybody stands then we can talk through the options." 

Shane started first. "Well, where I sit, there's only one way to move forward." 

"Killing him, right? I mean why bother to even take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing," Dale scoffed. 

"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know." 

"Well, I can tell you it's a small group-maybe just me and Glenn." 

Glenn was sitting straight in his chair, looking pale. "Look, I-I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this-" 

Dale shook his head. "They've got you scared." 

"He's not one of us. And we've-we've lost too many people already." 

"How about you? Do you agree with this?" Dale turned to Maggie, who was leaning against a counter. 

"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?" she suggested. 

Daryl shook his head, his soft voice low and gruff as usual. "Just another mouth to feed." 

"It may be a lean winter," Hershel said. 

"We could ration better," Lori suggested. 

"Well, he could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself," Dale said. 

"Put him to work?" Glenn suggested. 

"With his background and what his group does, I don't feel comfortable with him walking around," I said. 

"We could put an escort on him," Maggie reasoned. 

Shane scoffed. "Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" 

"I will." 

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy," Rick said. 

"He's right. I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up," Lori said. 

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labor," Andrea said. 

"Look, say we let him join us, right? Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his 30 men," Shane said. 

"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt? If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization," Dale pleaded. 

"Oh my god," Shane groaned. 

"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?" Hershel asked. 

Lori glanced at her husband. "You barely came back this time. There are walkers. You could break down. Y-you could get lost." 

Daryl nodded. "Or get ambushed" 

"They're right. We should not put our own people at risk." 

"If you go through with it, how would you do it? Would he suffer?" Patricia asked. 

Shane thought for a moment. "We could hang up, right? Just snap his neck?" 

"I thought about that. Shooting may be more humane." 

I nodded. "A bullet to the head, and that will be it." 

"And what about the body? Do we bury him?" T-Dog asked. 

Dale stood up, his chair making a loud grinding noise. "Hold on, hold on. You're talking about this like it's already decided!" 

"You've been talking all day, going around in circles. You just wanna go around in circles again?" Daryl asked. 

"This is a young man's life and it is worth more that a five-minute conversation! Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him and now look at us. He's been tortured. He's gonna be executed. How are we any better than those people that we're so afraid of?" 

"We all know what needs to be done," Shane argued back. 

"No, Dale is right. We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-" Rick started to say. 

"So what's the other solution?" Andrea asked, cutting him off. 

"Let Rick finish," Lori pleaded. 

"We haven't come up with a single viable option yet. I wish we could." 

"So let's work on it!" Dale shouted. 

"We are," Rick side. 

"Stop it. Just stop it. I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please decide-either of you, both of you-but leave me out," Carol sighed. 

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself-there's no difference!" 

"All right, that's enough. Anybody that wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance," Rick declared. 

Dale looked at Rick, straight to the eyes. "You once said that we don't kill the living." 

"Well, that was before the living tried to kill us." 

"But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were-the world that we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It's...harsh. It's-it's survival of the fittest. And that's a world I don't wanna live in and I don't believe that any of you do. I can't. Please. Let's just do what's right. Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me?" 

"He's right. We should try to find another way," Andrea sighed. 

"Anybody else?" 

"Are y'all gonna watch too? No, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. Whoa. I won't be a party to it." Dale glanced at Daryl, with pain in his eyes. "This group is broken." 

* * *

I stood by the edge of the barn while Daryl went in to get Randall. "What are ya doing here?" he asked me.

"I'm not gonna bury my head in my tent," I said, standing nearby. 

"Hold on. Hold on. Hold on," Randall pleaded. "Wait. Wait. Wait. Ah" 

"Put him there," Rick said, nodding with his head. 

"It's all gonna be over soon," Shane told the young man. 

"What? What's gonna be over soon?" Randall asked. 

"Relax." 

"Hey. Hey. No, no, no, no." 

"Shh, shh, shh, shh." 

Randall began to sob. "No." 

I looked down, as Shane tried to calm him and Shane and Rick got into position. "Do you have any final words?" Rick asked. 

I looked up. "No. Please. Please don't. Don't," Randall pleaded. 

Then, before I could stop him, my nephew went flying past me. "Carl!" I shouted, rushing over to him. 

"Do it, dad. Do it," Carl urged.

"Are you kidding me? What did I say to you?" Shane growled. 

"Shane?! Leave him," I warned, grabbing my nephew. "Come on..." 

I led Carl away, out of the line of fire. "I have to hand it to you, kid...You sure got some guts. What were you thinking?"

"It's not right, Aunt Paisley."

I sighed, and hugged him. "You're right," I said. I sent him to his mother and sighed. Suddenly, there was the sound of growling and screaming. 

"Carl?!" I shouted, running to the noise. "Rick?!" 

"T-Dog, get a shotgun now!" Rick shouted as we both raced over. 

Then we heard the gut crushing shout of Andrea. "Dale!" 

Rick and I froze. "Oh no..." I whispered, booking it now. 

"Help! Over here! Help! Run! Hang in there, buddy." 

I crashed down next to him, placing my hands on his torn throat. "Oh god, oh god, oh god..." I whispered, tears springing to my eyes. 

"All right, just listen to my voice. Listen to me, all right? Just listen to me," Rick pleaded. Dale moaned out in pain. "Okay, hold on now. Get Hershel! He needs blood. We got to operate now!" 

"Hang on, Dale. Hang on," Andrea sobbed, holding his hand. 

"Listen to me. Okay, listen to my voice. All right? Please. Hershel! We need Hershel!!" Rick shouted out. 

I shut everybody out as I did a quick assessment. Dale was loosing to much blood. I could feel it gushing through my fingers. His airway was compromised. His throat was torn to shreds...He wasn't going to survive. 

"What happened?" Hershel asked. 

"What can we do?" 

"Dale, it's gonna be okay," Glenn whispered. 

"Can we move him?" Rick asked. 

Hershel and I shared a look. We both knew the answer. "He won't make the trip," Hershel sighed. 

"You have to do the operation here. Glenn, get back to the house."

"Richard," I called out, getting his attention. I shook my head. 

Tears welled up in Rick's eyes "No!" 

"Oh god," Andrea sobbed. Dale continued to gurgle on his blood, chocking on it. "He's suffering. Do something! Come on. Oh god..."

Daryl looked pained as he took out his gun and cocking it. 

I turned my head, and closed my eyes tight as tears welled up. 

"Sorry, brother." 

I flinched at the gunshot, and then I felt Dale go still underneath my hands. 


	19. Monsters All Around Us

Dale's funeral was grim. There wasn't a dry eye in the field as we laid him to rest, each of us feeling his lost greatly. "Dale could-could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us-the truth, who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our safety...Our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale." We all grunted in agreement. 

After the funeral, things seemed to be calming down. With the impending winter, it was time to get ready. "Gonna be tight 15 people in one house," Rick sighed. 

"Especially with a new baby on the way," I added. 

"Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..." 

"With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell," Maggie smiled. 

Hershel nodded. "She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago." 

"All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road...We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines both sides of the property. T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going." 

"What about standing guard?" T-Dog asked. 

"I need you and Daryl on double duty..." 

T-Dog nodded in agreement. "Gotcha." 

"I'll stock the basement with food and water. enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be," Hershel volunteered. 

"What about patrols?" Andrea asked. 

"Let's get this area locked down first. After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose." 

Shane looked very displeased. "We're back to that now?" 

"It was the right plan first time around. Poor execution." 

Shane laughed bitterly. "That's a slight understatement." 

"You don't agree, but this is what's happening. Swallow it. Move on." 

"You know that Dale's death and the prisoner-that's two separate things, right? You wanna take Daryl as your wingman, be my guest." 

I traveled over to where said wingman was getting ready to go, packing his bike. "You gonna be okay out there?" I asked. He just grunted in response. "Try not to get stabbed by your own arrow again." Instead of responding, he grabbed me, and brought me towards his body, our lips meeting. "Mmm...That was nice."

"Okay," he grunted. 

"Okay, what?" 

He sighed. "You were right...With Dale dyin'...I just don't want to screw this up."

"I don't either...Let's just-Let's just see how this goes. Stop pushing me away. Come back to the group. Let me in..." 

He nodded. "Okay," he whispered, pushing a piece of hair behind my ears. I reached forward, kissing him again. 

"Daryl Dixon..." I whispered, grinning. Our noses brushed against each other. "The things that you make me feel..." 

"The things you make me feel," he echoed, kissing me again. 

"So, we're really going to do this," I grinned, feeling lighter and happier. 

"Hell ya," Daryl grinned. "It's either be with you or die. You're gonna kill me one of these days, girl." 

"Ha ha," I snickered, leaning in to kiss him. The kiss was getting deeper and deeper. One of my hands framed his face while my other grabbed onto his back. His hands found their place on my lip and in my long hair. It was perfect until somebody cleared their throat. 

We pulled apart to see Rick, who was staring at us with wide eyes. "Richard," I greeted. "Be safe out there."

"Yeah." 

* * *

"So we doing this?" Daryl asked, not wanting to have this conversation with Rick. To him, it was nobody's damn business what he and Paisley did. She was a grown ass woman who certainly knew what she wanted. And for some odd reason, she wanted him. Dale's death affected him. Life was to damn short and honestly, he wanted her too. She made him feel comfortable. She challenged him. 

"Take him out to senoia-hour there, hour back, give or take. We may lose the light, but we'll be halfway home by then..." 

"This little pain in the ass will be a distant memory. Good riddance," Daryl grunted. 

"Carol's putting together some provisions for him, enough to last a few days. That thing you did last night-" 

Daryl shrugged. "Ain't no reason you should do all the heavy lifting." 

"So are you good with all this?" Rick asked. 

"I don't see you and I trading haymakers on the side of the road. Nobody'd win that fight."

"So, you and Paisley..." Rick started to say. 

Daryl inwardly groaned. Here we go..."Yeah? What about it?"

"Nothing...Just-She's my sister. And I know she can take care of herself. But she's not that strong."

"She's pretty strong to me," Daryl said, defending the girl that captured his heart. 

"She is...I'm just saying-I've seen you two together and I've never seen her smile that big before. Just-Take good care of her. Or I'll put a bullet in your head."

Daryl nodded. "Fair enough. I'm gonna take a piss."

* * *

"Hey, Mags," I said, carrying my sleeping bag and bag into the house. "Where can I put this shit?"

"You can set it in my room," she smiled. 

"Really?" I asked, suprised. 

"I tried to get Glenn to share a room with me, but-Maybe it would be good to have another girl my age that I can talk to."

"Okay...So, roomie?" I asked. 

She grinned. "Roomie. Don't tell Beth. She wanted to share a room with you." 

"Ahh...We can have girl nights. At least he's coming around."

"How are you and Daryl?"

I grinned. "We're gonna for it," I grinned. 

Rick came into the house, looking distrubed. "And here comes the protective big brother speech," I sighed. "Hey, big bro. You okay?"

"Yeah. Can we have a minute?"

I followed him out. "Is this about me and Daryl? I'm a big girl, Rick."

"I know you are. And I'm happy for you," he said, smiling. "You are? Then why do you look like you're stressed and unsure."

"Because Carl...He stole Daryl's gun. And he blames himself for what happened to Dale. I've tried talking to him...But I'm not good at that stuff." 

"You're a good father, Rick," I said softly. "You've kept me straight all these years. You're gonna be okay. All of us are. It's just an adjustment."

"You're a good sister, Paisley." 

I grinned. "I love you, Big Brother."

"I love you too, Little Sister. By the way...I might have threatened Daryl."

"Knew it!" I declared. "I'll give Daryl the gun back."

"Shane has it." 

My blood went cold. "Why does Shane have it?" 

"Because Carl gave it to him. Paisley...Are you okay?" 

"Yeah...I'll tell you later." 

I went out looking for Daryl, but instead, I was met with mayhem. "What's wrong?" Lori asked as T-Dog, Glenn, and Rick came rushing back towards the house. 

"Randall's missing." 

"Missing? How?" Lori asked. 

"How long's he been gone?" Hershel asked. 

"What's goin' on?" Patricia asked. 

"It's hard to say." 

"The cuffs are still hooked. He must've slipped 'em." 

"Is that possible?" Carol asked. 

"It is if you've got nothing to lose." 

"The door was secured from the outside," Hershel said, thinking. 

"Rick! Rick!" Shane shouted, running up to our group. 

"What happened?" Lori asked. 

"He's armed! He's got my gun!" 

"Are you okay?" Carl asked. 

"I'm fine. Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face." 

"All right, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us. T, I'm gonna need that gun."

"I wanna come to," I said, my gun already in the holster at my hip. No way I was letting my brother and Shane out by themselves. 

"Just let him go. That was the plan, wasn't it, to just let him go?" Carol asked. 

"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun," Rick said. 

Carol: Don't go out there. Y'all know what can happen

"Get everybody back in the house. Lock all the doors and stay put!" 

"Let's go, back in the house," Andrea ushered everybody else. 

Maggie nodded. "Okay." 

"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out. I'm not sure how long," Shane told us. 

"He couldn't have gotten far. He's hobbled, exhausted," I said. 

"And armed," Glenn said gravely. 

"So are we. Can you track him?" Rick asked Daryl as we got moving. 

Daryl shook his head. "No, I don't see nothing." 

"Hey, look, there ain't no use in tracking him, okay? He went that way. We need to pair up. We spread out, we just chase him down. That's it." 

"Kid weighs a buck-25 soaking wet. You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?" Daryl asked, getting really suspicious. I didn't blame him. I was suspicious of Shane now too. 

"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?" 

"All right, knock it off. You and Glenn start heading up the right flank. Paisley, go with them. Me and Shane'll take the left. Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out for each other."

"Come on," Daryl told me, taking my hand. I followed Daryl and Glenn deep into the field. "This is pointless. You got a light?" Daryl asked, with an irritated sigh. "Come on." 

"We're just back to square one," Glenn groaned as we made a circle. 

"If you're gonna do a thing, you might as well do it right. There's two sets of tracks right here. Shane must've followed him a lot longer than he said. There's fresh blood on this tree. There's more tracks. Looks like they're walking in tandem."

"I have a bad feeling about this," I sighed, as we followed the tracks. 

"Yeah...Me too," Daryl admitted. 

Glenn jumped as some distant animal called out. "Sorry," he muttered, bumping into me. 

Daryl stopped, looking at the ground. "Yeah, there was a little dust up right here..." 

"What do you mean?" 

"He means that I mean something went down," I said, following the tracks. 

"It's getting weird..."

"Had a little trouble." 

Then we saw Randall, not alive. But as a walker. Daryl put him down with an arrow and I went to look at him. I ripped off his clothes, causing Glenn to gag. "His neck is broken...There's no bites," I muttered. 

"Yeah, none you can -" 

I shook my head frantically from my spot on the ground. "No, I'm telling you he died from this." 

"How's that possible?" Glenn asked. 

"That's not the point right now, Glenn. I'm telling you that Shane fucking killed Randall!" My heart was racing. "He fucking killed Otis, he fucking killed Randall, and now he's out there with Rick!" 

I started to head back towards the field. "Wait! Paisley, where are you going!" Daryl called out, grabbing me by the arm. 

"I gotta go find Rick! Shane has offically lost his mind! I'm not letting him go out there by himself!"

"Let's get the house first, and regroup. They may already be back." 

I yanked my arm away and headed in the direction of the house. "God dammit, Rick," I muttered. "You'd better be there." 


	20. Playing With Fire

By the time we got to the farm, I went running into the house. "Rick?!" I called out. But there was no answer, only confused glances. 

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked. 

"No." 

"We heard a shot," Daryl said. 

"Maybe they found Randall." 

"We found him." 

"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asked. 

"He's a walker," I said. 

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked. 

"No, the weird thing is he wasn't bit." 

"His neck was broke." 

"So he fought back," Patricia said. 

"The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. They were together," Daryl answered. 

"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori asked, turning pale. 

Daryl nodded. "You got it." 

"Thank you," Lori breathed out in relief. 

"Not you, Princess. You're stayin' here," Daryl told me. 

"But-" I started to say. Sighing, I nodded. "Fine...Just...come back in one piece will ya? And Rick too."

"I'll see what I can do," he said, starting to head out the door. But then he froze. "Shit...Back inside...Now!" 

I nodded, and headed back inside quickly. "Turn off the fucking lights!" I hissed. 

"What's going on?" Andrea asked. That's when everybody else saw the giant herd coming towards us. 

"Patricia, kill the lights," Hershel whispered. 

"I'll get the guns," Andrea whispered, running off. 

"Maybe they're just passing, like the herd on the highway. Should we just go inside?" 

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about. A herd that size would rip the house down," Daryl told us. 

"We gotta leave," I said. "We head towards the cars." 

"Carl's gone," Lori said in a rush, coming back outside. 

"What?" 

Lori had tears in her eyes. "He-he was upstairs. I can't find him anywhere."

"Maybe he's hiding..." 

"He's supposed to be upstairs. I'm not leaving without my boy," Lori said. 

Carol grabbed her hand. "We're not. We're gonna look again. We're gonna find him." 

I grabbed a shot gun from Andrea as did Maggie. "Maggie," Glenn said, suprised as she easily shot a walker in the head. 

"You grow up country, you pick up a thing or two," she smirked. 

"I got the number-it's no use," Daryl said. 

"You can go if you want," Hershel said, cocking his own shotgun. 

"You gonna take 'em all on?" Daryl asked. 

Hershel nodded. "We have guns. We have cars." 

Andrea nodded. "Kill as many as we can, and we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm." 

Daryl glanced at her. "Are you serious?"

"This is my farm. I'll die here..." 

"All right. It's as good a night as any," Daryl sighed. 

"All right! Let's go!" I shouted. 

I jumped into the truck bed as Glenn and Maggie got into the cab. I shot as she drove around in circles. When she got to a bump, I had to hang on to the side to keep from tipping over. "Keep it steady!" Glenn told his girlfriend. 

"I'm trying!" Maggie grunted. 

"Paise...You okay?!" he shouted through the small window. 

"Holy shit..." I said, shooting off another round. I wasn't that good with a shot gun, but I was slowly getting the hang of it. "Y'all fucking see that?!" I asked. 

"Oh my god..." Maggie whispered continuing to drive around. 

It was chaos...Soon, I lost sight of our group. Everybody was fleeing. I felt sick as I watched our safe haven get overrun. "Where the hell are they going? Should I follow them?" Maggie asked. 

"I'd say yes. Swing it around. Swing it around here. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa..."m

I shouted as one of the walkers tried to grab me. "Maggie!" I shouted, bringing the butt of the shotgun down on it's head until he dropped. 

"I can't get through," Maggie said. 

Glenn looked at me, and I nodded. "Head out," he told her. 

"What?" 

"Get off the farm now," he clarified. 

Maggie's eyes welled up with tears. "Don't say that..." 

"Maggie, it's lost!" 

"The others-we can't leave them!" 

I turned and stuck my head through the small window. "GET OFF THE FUCKING FARM NOW!" I screamed. 

Maggie stiffened, tears rolling down her face as she turned and headed towards the main road at a fast pace. I sat back down, and tried to gulp in breaths. I was feeling out of control. I didn't know if my family, or Daryl was alive. We drove until the sun was up. I was on the verge of a breakdown, and the bad thing about it was that I didn't have my meds anymore. What was even worst that Maggie was about to lose it too. 

"Oh my god. Oh my god..."

"All right, let's just-let's just circle back to the highway..." 

"Did you see my dad? Did-did he make it? Did you see?" Maggie asked. 

Glenn swallowed hard. "I couldn't see anything..." 

"And Beth-I lost Beth. We've gotta go back there!" 

"We can't go back, okay? There's nothing to go back to." 

"But Beth-" Maggie whimpered. 

"I-I-I think she was with Lori and the others..." 

"Did they make it?"

"I don't know." 

"Patricia? Jimmy? What if they didn't make it? What if nobody made it?" 

"They made it, okay? They had to. All right, let's just circle around to the highway where we left supplies for Sophia." 

"No, the herd came from that direction!" 

"Just stop. Stop the car. Stop the car." 

The car came too a stop, and Maggie started to sob. "Let me drive." 

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey, Maggie, look at me. Look at me. Hey, we're alive. We made it. Okay? I'm sure they are too. Right? I love you. Maggie, I love you. I should've said it a long time ago and it's been true for a long time. We're gonna be all right, okay? We'll be all right." 

"Okay. Yeah."

"Okay? Paisley? How are you doing? Paisley?" 

Maggie reached out and grabbed my hand as she and Glenn traded seats. I looked at my best friend, and the woman that quickly became my best girl friend. I nodded. "Okay..." I whispered. 

"Okay...Let's go." 

I was lounging in the truck as I heard the sound of a motorcycle. I sat up, and gasped when I saw Daryl and Carol on a motorcycle. Behind them was another car. "You guys...Look!" I exclaimed. 

Glenn glanced at the rear view mirror, then let out a loud whoop. And sure enough, there was Rick, Hershel, and Carl. "Daddy!" Maggie cried out, getting out of the truck. 

Daryl was off the bike and heading towards me as I scooted towards the end of the truck bed. Once I was within his arms reach, he grabbed me, picking me up, and placing his lips roughly on mine. I closed my eyes as I cupped his face. One of his hands went into my hair, and the other gripped my hip so hard that I thought he was going to leave a bruise, but I didn't mind. We seperated as everybody finished greeting each other. I went over to my brother and hugged him. 

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked, hugging me back tightly. 

"Well, those guys' tail lights zigzagging all over the road-figured he had to be Asian, driving like that." 

Glenn chuckled. "Good one." 

"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl asked. 

Rick looked around at our small numbers. "We're the only ones who made it so far." 

"Shane?" Lori asked. 

"Andrea?" Glenn asked. 

"She saved me, then I lost her," Carol explained sadly. 

"We saw her go down," T-Dog said sadly. 

"Patricia?" Hershel asked. 

"They got her too, took her right in front of me. I was-" Beth started to say, crying. "I was holdin' onto her daddy. She just-What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?" 

Rick sighed sadly. "He was in the RV. It got overrun." 

"You definitely saw Andrea?" Carol asked. 

"There were walkers everywhere." 

"Did you see her?" 

"I'm gonna go back," Daryl suddenly said, heading towards his bike. 

"No," Rick said. 

"We can't just leave her."

"We don't even know if she's there," I told Daryl. 

"She isn't there. She isn't. She's somewhere else or she's dead. There's no way to find her," Rick said. 

"So we're not even gonna look for her?" 

Rick looked around us. "We gotta keep moving. There have been walkers crawling all over here." 

"I say head east." 

"Stay off the main roads. The bigger the road, the more walkers ,more asshole like this one. I got him," Daryl shot a straggling walker in the head with an arrow. "Come on, Princess. You're with me." 

* * *

I gripped Daryl tightly as we rode on one of the side roads. Hearing a horn honk, we all stopped our various modes of transportation. "You out?" Daryl asked. 

Rick nodded. "Running on fumes." 

"We can't stay here," Maggie stressed. 

"We can't all fit in one car," Glenn told her. 

"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning," Rick announced. 

Carol blinked like he was crazy. "Spend the night here?" 

"I'm freezing," Carl told his mom, who rubbed his arms. 

"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori asked everybody. 

"You go out looking for firewood, stay close. Only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?" Daryl said, looking at Rick. 

"Not enough," Rick sighed. 

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out," Maggie said. 

Hershel glanced at his oldest daughter. "Watch your mouth. Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick." 

"All right, we'll set up a perimeter. In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on," Rick announced. 

"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas," Maggie volunteered. 

"No, we stay together. God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."

"Rick, we're stranded now," said Glenn. 

"I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure-I really wasn't-but we did. We're together. We keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place." 

"Rick, look around. Okay? There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something." 

"There's gotta be a place not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other. I know it's out there. We just have to find it."

"Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe, we can never be sure. For how long? Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that that was safe."

"We won't make that mistake again," I said. "We'll be smarter. Better. We'll know how to make it better." 

"We'll make camp tonight over there, get on the road at the break of day." 

"Does this feel right to you?" Carol asked. 

"What if walkers come through, or another group like Randall's?"

"You know I found Randall, right? He had turned, but he wasn't bit," Daryl told Rick. 

"He's right. I inspected his body myself. His neck was broken. No scratches or bite marks," I told my brother. 

"How's that possible?" Beth asked. 

Lori looked at her husband. "Rick, what the hell happened?" 

"Shane killed Randall. Just like he always wanted to," Daryl said. 

"And then the herd got him?" Lori asked. 

Rick swallowed. "We're all infected." 

Daryl growled. "What?" 

"At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it."

"Oh my god..." I whispered, walking away a little bit. 

"And you never said anything?" Carol asked. 

"Would it have made a difference?" Daryl asked. 

"You knew this whole time?" Glenn asked, accusing Rick. 

"How could I have known for sure? You saw how crazy that mo-" 

"That isn't your call. Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone."

"Well, I thought it best that people didn't know." 

"I'm sure you had your reasons," Lori told him, giving him a soft kiss, "is there anything that-" 

"I killed him. I killed Shane. He came at me. He killed Randall to get me into the woods. He planned it. I had-I had no choice. I gave him every chance and he kept leading me further out. He pushed me, and I let him. And after awhile, I knew-I knew what he was doing, what he was up to. And I kept going. I didn't stop. I could have, but...I just wanted it over. Dogging me every step of the way. Acting like I stole you and Carl, like-like I was in the way. I just wanted it over. I wanted him dead. I killed him. He turned. That's how I knew Jenner-Jenner was right. Carl put him down." 

"Ooh," Lori sniffled, walking away to cry. 

I walked over to my brother. "Oh god, Rick..." I sighed, leaning against the car next to him. 

"You mad at me?" he asked. 

"No...I was just worried. Shane killed Otis," I admitted. "Dale knew it. Daryl knows it. I know it...Rick when I heard that gunshot, I was so worried...I had a bad feeling. Then I went back the house and you weren't there...Carl was gone, and then all Hell broke loose. I don't know what I would've done if I lost you again." 

Rick pulled me into his arms as I started to cry. "Hey...I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

I pulled back, scowling as I glared at him. "You better not," I warned. "You know I'm with you every step of the way, right? You and me against the world."

Rick smiled a bit. "You and me against the world." 

"Hey, Princess," Daryl called out as I went to gather fire wood. 

"Hey," I smiled. 

Daryl moved a piece of hair behind my ear, tugging on in slight. "Fuck..." he grunted, closing his eyes. 

"Hey..." I said, going over to hug him. "I'm here." 

"I couldn't find ya. That's how I found Carol...I went looking for ya, and when I couldn't-I've never been that scared before in my life." 

I shushed him by giving him a hard kiss. I pushed him against a tree, causing him to moan. "We'll have to make this quick," I whispered, pushing his leather vest off of his shoulders. "And you have to be quiet."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, flipping our positions. After twenty minutes of raw and passionate sex, we walked back to the group, where we all sat around the fire. I sat close to Carl as we shared a blanket.

"I missed you, kiddo," I told him. 

"I missed you to," he smiled. "Aunt Paisley? Are you and Daryl dating now?" 

I glanced at Daryl who was having a very intense converation with Carol. He caught my eye and I saw the tiniest of smirks on his lip. I knew he was listening. "Yeah...We are."

"Cool...Did you tell him that I stole his gun?"

I sighed. "Don't worry about it," I told Carl, kissing the top of his head. Leaves rustled near us, alerting everybody. Carl tensed, but I gripped him tighter. "Easy," I whispered. 

"What was that?" Beth asked, her voice shaky. 

"Could be anything. Could be a raccoon, could be a possum..." 

"Walker," Glenn said. "Which way?" 

"It came from over there," Maggie pointed, sitting up straighter. 

"Back from where we came?" Beth asked. 

"Yeah." 

"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot," Rick told the group, one hand on his Python. 

A branch snapped, causing more panic. "Don't panic." 

"I'm not-I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now," Maggie called out. 

"Sit the fuck down, Maggie. Everybody calm the fuck down," I said, my voice hard. 

"No one is going anywhere," Rick growled, his temper shorting out quickly. 

"Do something," Carol hissed. 

"I am doing something! I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along ,no matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people for Christ's sake! You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me." Carl stared to cry into my shoulder, and I rubbed his back. "My hands are clean. Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe-maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe-maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you-why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get. No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight-you're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore." 


	21. The Coldest Winter

_**Seven Months Later** _

Somehow, we made it through the roughest of winters. We moved from place to place, stopping to eat and rest. As the months passed, so did Lori's stomach, which started to worry me. She was thinner than she should me. We all made sure she had extra rations, but it wasn't enough. But I was right. We were smarter. We knew how to outsmart the herd. We knew how to get around them. It became second nature to us. It was now about survival. We moved like a machine. 

"Psst," T-Dog whispered. We all rushed into the small cabin, guns and knifes up. When there was nothing there, we all relaxed, sitting down to have our small meal. 

"Here, Lori," I whispered, handing her a couple of stale crackers. 

"Paisley..." she sighed, trying to refuse. She always refused. 

"Just take it," I sighed, placing them in her hands. I ate some of the owl that Daryl shot. "What'cha got there, kiddo?" I asked, Carl. 

He smiled shyly, showing me the can of dog food. I smiled at him, and headed towards Rick and Daryl as they pulled out the map. "Fifteen, you're on point," Rick said. 

"We got no place left to go," T-Dog sighed. 

Maggie pointed to one part of the map where there were Xs drawn. "When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off. We'll never make it south." 

"What would you say? That was about 150 head?" Daryl asked. 

"That was last week. It could be twice that by now." 

"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through there," Hershel said. Since there was no shaving, Rick and Hershel had begun to grow a beard. Daryl had some stubble, but I didn't mind. I just minded when it left rashes on parts of my body that others could see. 

"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way," I said, pointing to an area. 

Maggie sighed. "So we're blocked." 

"Only thing to do is double back at 27 and swing towards Greenville." 

"Yeah, we picked through that already. It's like we spent the winter going in circles," T-Dog said 

Rick sighed, rubbing his temples. "Yeah, I know. I know. At Newnan we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet. We can't keep going house to house. Need to find someplace to hole up for a few weeks." 

Rick looked at me. He was worried for his wife, and I knew that. Lori was close to being due. Hershel and I had been giving her the best OB check-ups we could do in our circumstances. I shared my concerns about the possible complications that were similar to Carl's birth. The dangers of a C-section without proper medical equipment. 

"All right. It cool if we get to the creek before we head out? Won't take long. We got to fill up on water. We can boil it later," T-Dog said, holding up a water bottle. 

Rick shrugged. "Knock yourself out." 

"She can't take much more of this moving about," Hershel whispered to Rick. 

"What else can we do? Let her give birth on the run?" 

"You see a way around that?"

"Hey, while the others wash their panties, let’s go hunt. That owl didn’t exactly hit the spot," Daryl called out, swinging his crossbow on his back. "You comin' Princess?"

I grinned, and headed off. It was clear that we all had our places in the group, but Rick was our leader. Daryl was his second, and I was in the small inner circle. Daryl's hand gravitaed towards mine as we headed out.

"Hey...Don't let Hershel get to you. You're doing the best you can," I said.

"Thanks, Paisley," Rick sighed, smiling a bit. "There's gotta be somewhere safe for us. I just know it..."

"Would ya look at that?" Daryl asked, stopping.

"What is it?" I asked. A slow grin filled my face. "Huh..."

"That’s a shame," Daryl tsked. 

Rick was looking at it, and I could see his wheels turning. "Rick...What are you thinking?"

"We could clear it out," he muttered.

"We could...It's gonna take time."

"But we can clear it out, and shut the gate to prevent more walkers!"

"You gotta be a crazy son of a bitch to try it," Daryl said grinning.

"Well, we are all crazy at this point," I said.

The first part of the plan was set in motion. Rick cut the wires with bolt cutters, letting Glenn and Maggie in to kill an incoming walker. "Watch the backside!" Rick said.

"Got it," Lori said as I hopped through. "Lor..."

I helped her through, careful of her belly, and then everybody else crossed. Everyone crosses the wire, they are now in an alley surrounding the prison. "Hurry! Hurry!" I told T-Dog helping him throug. Glenn and Daryl quickly went to close up the wire, all of us running away. I let out a laugh as the walkers got stopped by said wire. We contined to run through the alley until we got to a door. Daryl opened it, to see a courtyard filled with walkers and the actual prison. For the first time in months, Rick had a big smile on his face. "It’s perfect. If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We’ll take the field by tonight."

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked. 

"I’ll do it. You guys cover me," Glenn said. 

Maggie stopped her boyfriend. "No, it’s a suicide run."

"I’m the fastest."

"No. You, Maggie and Beth draw as many as you can over there, pop them through the fence. Daryl, go back to the other tower. Paisley, go with him. Carol, you’ve become a pretty good shot, take your time, we don’t have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel, you and Carl, take this tower."

Carl nodded. "Alright. Everybody gets in position."

"I’ll run for the gate," Rick said. 

"Run, Forest, run," I joked. In terms, I meant 'run fast, don't get caught."

Daryl, Carol, and I headed over to the watch tower. "After you, Princess," he teased. 

I rolled my eyes. "You just wanna look at my ass," I sighed, climbing up. 

"And it's a pretty nice view!" I heard the redneck call up. I stopped, reaching down to flip him, only to squeal when he slapped my ass. 

"Get a move on, girl!" 

"You're an asshole, you know that?" I asked when I got to the top. I grabbed my shotgun, loading her up. 

"So, what else is new," he asked, as he made it. 

The past seven months, our relationship has had it's ups and downs, but mainly ups. Daryl opened up to me about his life, letting me in behind the thick walls he has built up around himself. I let him inside of mine, and he now had a permanent place residing in my heart. I couldn't get enough of him. It was like we fit together. I guess that opposites do attract. Even though he drove me crazy most days, I couldn't wait to curl up beside him to sleep, or press my body up against his as we rode on his bike. We still teased each other, but I've come to learn that 'Princess' was a term of endearment reserved only for me, just like I called him an asshole or dummy or jerk. 

"This place is amazing," I said, shooting one of the walkers. 

"It might actually work," Daryl said. 

"It has to," I said, looking around. 

I spotted one, but Carol beat me to it. "I got it!" 

I smiled as she hit her target. "Good job, Carol."

"Thanks," she smiled, proud of herself. But then she almost shot Rick. "Sorry!" she called out. 

"Come on, Forrest. Almost there," I whispered, watching my brother book it towards the gate. Then he was at the gate, and it was closed. 

"He did it!" Carol cheered. 

"Light it up!" Daryl called out. 

We all started to shoot down the remaining walkers, easily taking them out. It was like we could breath for the first time. "Fantastic!" Carol cheered as we finished off the last walkers. We began to climb down. 

"Nice shooting," Daryl told her. 

"Yeah."

Daryl helped me down, and I smiled, wrapped my legs around him, his hands on my ass. "Put me down, jerk," I said, patting him on the chest. He put me down, pulling me in for a rough kiss, making my body feel sparks all the way down to my toes. "I can't believe it," I sighed happily as he wrapped an arm around me. 

I wrapped my around his waist as we met up with the others. We sat around the camp fire, enjoying ourselves. "Rick...you've checked it three times now. Go get something to eat," I sighed, walking over to my brother. 

"I just wanna make sure-"

"Nope! As your doctor and nurse, I'm telling you to sit down for a hot minute and eat," I told him. 

"Yes, Dr. Grimes," he teased. 

I smacked him on the head, and headed off to where Carol was laughing and climbing down a car. Daryl looked red in the face. "Carol...Are you flirting with my man again?" I asked, teasing. 

"Of course not! I value all of my teeth. And my nose. We all know how possesive you are of him...and that he only has eyes for you." 

I blushed remembering the first time that Daryl got a little rough with his kisses down my neck, giving me a massive hickey. "Tell me about it. Talk about trying to explain to Carl that sometimes humans bite for fun." 

Carol laughed, and nodded towards him. "He's all years." 

I touched her arm, squeezing it in in passing, and headed towards the car. "A little help here?" I asked. 

He grinned, and held out a hand. "So...wanna fool around?" I asked, smirking. 

"With you? Everyday of the week, darlin'," he said softly, pushing a strand of hair from my face. 

My heart melted as I leaned into him. Our lips met with a slow kiss, and I moaned. We pulled away, and I had a sleepy smile on my face as his nose brushed against mine, our foreheads touching. "Tell me this is happening."

"It's happenin' darlin'. This place is ours." 

"Better all turn in. I’ll take watch over there, we’ve got a big day tomorrow," Rick announced as we rejoined the group.

Glenn frowned. "What do you mean?"

Rick sighed. "Look, I know we’re all exhausted. This was a great win. But we gotta push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards or prisoners, looks like this place fell pretty early. Could mean the supplies may be intact. They have an infirmary, a commissary."

"An armory?" Daryl asked hopefully.

Rick nodded. "That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden’s offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine, this place could be a gold mine!"

"We’re dangerously low on ammo. We’ll run out before we make a dent," Hershel said.   
  
"That’s why we gotta go in there. Hand to hand. After all we’ve been through, we can handle it, I know it. These assholes don’t stand a chance." Rick walked off, followed by Lori. 

I sighed. "Alright...You heard the man. Everybody turn in for a night. We got a big day tomorrow." 

We all began to unroll our sleeping bags, spreading them out near the fire. "I can't wait until we don't have to wear jeans to sleep no more," I sighed, climbing into my bag. 

"Me too," Daryl said, giving me a wolfish grin. 

* * *

"Ready?" Hershel asked, all of us ready to fight whatever was going to come through this door. Rick nodded, quickly opening the door that led to the courtyard. Daryl, T-Dog, Rick, Maggie, Glenn, and I all entered, stabbing the walkers to the best of our ability. I grunted as I pushed one away from me. Rick opens the door that leads to the courtyard. T-Dog enters and stabs a walker, Daryl, Rick, Maggie and Glenn enter as well. They all start stabbing walkers in the head. The rest was stabbing the walkers through the fence and calling them away from us.

"Almost there," Rick called out.

We walked to see another courtyard filed with walkers. We all rushed to hid behind a wall. Two walkers came out of a vehicle, they’re dressed as guards, so they have helmets on. Two others came out from behind the wall, and Maggie kicked one back.

Daryl killed a walker as Rick walked towards the courtyard with walkers in order to close it. He pushed a guard on the floor. "Daryl!" Rick called out as I went to the door. 

As soon everybody was through, I closed the door. Maggie had the bright idea to stab the walkers in the neck. Rick stripped one of the fallen guards, stabbing it in the head. "Stop."

"Looks secure," Glenn panted. 

"Nothing will lead to that courtyard over there," he said. He pointed to a body. "And that’s a civilian."

"So the interior could be over run by walkers from outside the prison."

"Great," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. 

"Well, if there’s walls, then, what are we gonna do? We can’t rebuild this whole place," Glenn asked.

"We can’t risk a blind spot. We have to push in," Rick informed us. 

We all nodded, and headed towards a door leading to the prison, and Daryl opened the door. We wandered through the empty cell block, seeing a couple of stragglers. It was easy to kill the walkers that were in the cells. 

"What do you think?" Rick asked. 

Glenn was grinning. "Home sweet home."

Rick nodded. "For the time being."

"It’s secure?" Lori asked, a hand on her round belly.

Rick turned to her, smiling. "This cell block is."

"What about the rest of the prison?"

"In the morning, we’ll find the cafeteria, and the infirmary."

Beth scrunched up her nose. "We’ll sleep in the cells?"

"I found the keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too."

"I ain’t sleeping in no cage. I’ll take the perch," Daryl said, heading out. 

I rolled my eyes, and headed towards an empty cell. From my cell, Daryl could see me perfectly. He was watching me, and I slowly began to strip off my jacket followed by my sweater, leaving me in my black crop top. 

I wandered over to him, smirking. "You're really gonna sleep out here? Instead of in there...With me?" I asked. 

"I ain't sleepin' in no cage, darlin'," he pointed out. 

I shrugged. "Okay...Suit yourself. I hope you know what your missin'." I picked my cell because it was close enough to Daryl, but far away enough to tease him. On the way back to my cell, I removed my tank top, and started to undo the button of my jeans. "Good night, Dixon."

"Night, Princess," he called out, chuckling. 

I made my bed on the metal slab, and got comfortable. Pretty soon, I smiled as I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist. Turning over, I grinned wider. "Change your mind?" 

"You change all the thoughts in my mind, darlin'," he sighed, kissing me. I unbuttoned his shirt, feeling his strong muscles as I brought my legs up around his hips. My hands went down to unbuckle his belt and pushed his jeans off his his body. His rough fingers circled around my back, unclasping my bra. Leaning up, he ran his hand down my cheek. "You're so fuckin' beautiful." 

I pulled him down, feeling his rough hands touch me in places that made me moan his name. "Love me, Dixon," I urged. 

"Whatever you want, darlin'," he whispered. 

* * *

"Not bad," Daryl said, impressed on what we have found. 

"Flashbangs, CS Triple-Chasers. Not sure how they’d work on walkers, but we’ll take them," Rick smiled.

Daryl picked up a helmet, wincing at them. 'I ain’t wearing this shit."

T-Dog picked up gloves that were in the same condition. "We could boil them."

"Seriously?" I asked, pushing the helmet away. "There's not enough firewood in the whole forest." 

"Besides, we’ve made it this far without them right?" Daryl asked. 

Carol entered the room, looking at me and Hershel. "Paisley? Hershel?" she called out. 

I immediately knew it was about Lori. "Everything alright?" Rick asked. 

"Yeah, nothing to worry about," Carol smiled. 

I followed them out. "It’s the baby, I think I lost it," Lori said, holding her belly. 

"You haven’t felt it move?" Hershel asked as I helped Lori lay down on the bunk. 

Lori shook her head. "Nothing. And no Braxton-Hicks. At first, I thought it was exhaustion and malnutrition."

"You’re anemic?" Hershel asked.

Lori nodded. "If we’re all infected, then so is the baby. So what if it’s stillborn? What if it’s dead inside me right now, what if it rips me apart?"

"Stop. Don’t let your fear take control of you," Hershel told her as I began to feel around her belly.

"Okay. Let’s say it lives, and I die during childbirth."

I grabbed my sister-in-laws hand. "That’s not going to happen."

"Why not? How many women died in childbirth before modern medicine? You were there when Carl was born! If I come back, what if I attack it? Or you, Rick, Carl… If I do, if there is any chance, you put me down immediately, you don’t hesitate!" Lori started to sob. "Me, the baby, if we’re walkers, you don’t hesitate, and you don’t try to save us! Okay?" I sighed, and nodded and pulled her up to hug her. "It might have been better if…"

"If what?"

"If I’d never made it off the farm."

"Lori...You’re exhausted, frightened."

"Yeah, that’s true. My son can’t stand me. And my husband, after what I put him through..."

"We’ve all been carrying that weight. All winter," Hershel admitted. 

"I tried to talk to him. He… "

"He’ll come around."

"He hates me. He’s too good a man to say it, but… I know. I put him and Shane at odds, I put that knife in his hands!"

"You know who doesn’t give a shit about that? This baby. Now let’s make sure everything’s alright."

* * *

I grabbed my knife and my gun with the silencer on it, and headed towards the others. "Everything okay?" she asked. 

"I guess," I sighed. "Lori is anemic...I'm pretty sure she's preeclamptic."

"What does that mean?" Daryl asked. 

"It's when the mother has high blood pressure which can lead to seizures..."

"How can you stop it?" he asked. 

"Meds that we don't have? Keeping stress down?" 

"Hopefully they have something," I sighed. Daryl pulled me closer and kissed me. "That's helping." 

"Good," he grunted, handing me a a bullet proof vest that had some sort of sleeves. 

"I'm not wearing that," I said, pushing it back. 

"Yeah, you are..."

"No, I'm not! It's digusting!" 

"Come on, Princess. I cleaned it for ya," he smirked. "What happens if we lose ya? What happens to Lori?" 

"Fine," I sighed, snatching it away from him. "Asshole." 

I begrudingly pulled on the vest. Daryl's hands found the straps, securing it tightly. He moved to the other side, pulling me to him by the insides. "Happy, now?" 

He simply smirked, kissing me. "Great, let’s go," Rick called out. 

We headed into the prison, Carl shutting the door behind us. It was me, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, T-Dog, Hershel, and Rick. We moved quietly, flashlights in hand as we nagivated around the dead bodies that littered the group. Glenn was drawing arrows on the wall with spray paint so we couldn't get lost. Maggie jumped in fright at something, running into Glenn. I gasped as Walkers headed in our direction. Daryl pushed me and we all headed back the way we came running. "Go back, go back! Go back, move! This way!" Rick said. 

Glenn grabbed Maggie's hand. "Come on, come on!"

"Come on, this way!"

Daryl grabbed me by the vest, verring me to follow Rick. That's when I noticed we were missing two of our people. "Wait!" I panted, looking around. "Where’s Glenn and Maggie?"

Hershel looked very afraid. "We have to go back!"

"But which way?" Daryl asked. 

We began to head back. "Maggie? Glenn?" Hershel called out. I followed close behind, looking around. "Mag? Mag?"

Suddenly, I heard him scream. Stopping, I saw a walker that was sitting on the ground, biting his leg. "Hershel!" I shouted, shooting it in the head. "Rick!"

Rick came running, as did Maggie and Glenn. "No! No, daddy! No!" Maggie sobbed as I moved the walker off of Hershel's leg, inspecting it.

I looked up to see more walkers coming. "We gotta go!"

Rick and Glenn got Hershel up, hauling him as we raced off. "Daryl!" Rick called out. 

"Run!" T-Dog shouted. 

"We’re blocked!" Rick said. 

T-Dog froze, and turned back. "Get back, get back!"

"God! Oh, god! Oh, god!" Hershel moaned. 

"Go, go!"

Daryl spotted a door, and maganged to get it open. "Get in, get in!"

We all rushed in. "Oh, god! Oh god!"

Rick and Glenn lyed Hershel down and Maggie collasped down next to him. "Shut the door!" Rick called out. 

I grabbed my knife and ripped his pant leg so I could see the bite. My mind was racing on ways to save him...The disease was a virus...It was systemic...There was only one way. "I need your belt!" I shouted, reaching blindly to undo Rick's belt. He quickly undid it, handing it to me. I placed it above the bite, and looked around. "That axe...Get it."

Rick seemed to understand, and went to grab it. T-Dog was keeping the door closed, as Daryl came over to help us. "Hold him down!" I said, taking off the vest and ripping off my flannel shirt.

"Alright. Only one way to keep him alive!" Rick said, grabbing the axe.

"Rick...You have to use force to break through the bones," I whispered. He nodded. Raising the axe up, he brought it down quickly. Hershel shouted as Maggie sobbed, holding onto his head. "Please pass out, please pass out, please pass out..." I chanted. Finally, Hershel passed out for the pain. Rick looked sick. "Keep going!"

Rick finally went through the bone and sat there in shock at what he just did. "Oh… He’s bleeding out."

I immediately started to pack the stump with my shirt to try to staunch the blood flow. Daryl froze, shifting to his knees, his eyes and expression hard. "Daryl?" I asked, afraid by his protective stanch.

"Duck."

Rick and I ducked as he stood up, pointing his flashlight and crossbow at four men.

"Holy shit," one of the men exclaimed. 


	22. Bleeding Out

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl growled, his crossbow pointing at the five prisoners. 

I looked back down at Hershel, and grabbed the towels and bandages that I could easily see, placing them on the stump. "He’s bleeding out, we gotta go back!" I shouted, blood rushing in my ears. "Maggie...Come around here. Put pressure on the knee!" Maggie quickly came around took my place. "Hard! Hard! Push, push!" I reached over and grabbed one of Daryl's arrows from his quiver. "Maggie...I need you to hold this. As hard as you can."

Maggie who was shell-shocked but nodded. "…Yes.."

"Glenn..." I said, looking over to the four prisoners.

"Yeah," he grunted, already up. I stuck the arrow into the belt and twisted it as tight as I could get it. "You got medical supplies?"

"Wow, where do you think you’re going?" one of the prisoner's asked. 

"Who the hell are you people anyway?" asked another one. 

"Don’t look like no rescue team!" the first one said. 

"If a rescue team’s what you’re waiting for, don’t!" Rick shouted, trying to pick Hershel up. 

Glenn grabbed a rolling table, pushing it over to us. "Come on, we gotta go! Now!" I shouted. 

"Come on, we need a hand here!" Rick shouted. Maggie, Glenn, Rick, and I got ready to pick him up. "One, two, three, go!"

"Holy Jesus!"

"T, the door!" Rick shouted. 

"Are you crazy?" one of the prisoner's called out. "Don’t open that!"

"We got this," T-Dog said, opening it, and killing a walker that came in. We began to push him out of the room. 

"Daryl! Daryl!" Rick called out. 

I turned to see my boyfriend still pointing his crossbow at one of the prisoners and one of the prisoners pointing a gun at him. "Let’s go."

"This way! Go, go, go, go! Back, back! Daryl!" Rick ordered as we navigated our way back. 

"Come on! Go, go, go!"

"Rick," I whispered, seeing the prisoners following us.

"Stop, stop!" Rick called out.

"Follow the flashlight, come on let’s go!" we could hear. 

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!"

We booked it double time and Daryl opened a door. We were almost there...Just a little bit more..."He’s losing too much blood!" Maggie sobbed. 

"Open the door! It’s Hershel! Carl, come on!" Rick shouted out through the door. 

Carl opened the door as we all rushed in. "Oh, my god!"

"Daddy!" Beth sobbed out as we came closer. 

"Go, go, go, go! In there!" I ordered, seeing a cell. 

"Turn it, turn it, turn it!" Glenn shouted. 

We turned the table so it could through the door. "Get him on the bed!" I said. 

"He got bit," Rick explained as we transfered him tot he bed. 

"Oh, my god, he’s gonna turn!" Beth sobbed. 

Lori looked at me and Rick. "Did you cut it off?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah."

"Maybe you got it in time."

"Careful! Ready? Okay. One, two, three!"

Carol, Lori, Glenn and Rick carry Hershel to the bed. "Oh, God!" Lori gasped. 

"We need bandages!" Carol exclaimed. 

"We used everything we had!" I shouted back. 

"Well, get more! Anything!" 

"Carl, go get the towels from the back, right next to my bed!" Lori told her son.

"Is he gonna die?" Beth asked. 

"No, no, no, he’s gonna be okay," Lori told the teenager, holding her.

Rick placed a hand on my arm as I grabbed a couple of shirts that I saw easily. "You think you can stabilize him?"

I nodded. "I need to keep his leg elevated. Get some pillows!"

"He’s already bled through the shits!"

"We can burn the wound to clot the blood. I can start a fire," Glenn suggested, but that made Beth even more upset. 

"Oh, god, no please don’t do this!"

I shook my head. "No, the shock could kill him. It’s not gonna stop the arteries from bleeding. We need to keep it dressed and let it heal on its own." Carl came back with the towels and pillows. I removed the already soiled shirts and started to pack the wound again. "Lori...Can you check his pulse, please?" I asked, my voice catching in my throat. Now I knew why they didn't let anybody operate on family. 

Lori placed her fingers on his neck. "I feel one...It's weak."

"Okay...How's his breathing?"

"Shallow..."

"Okay, okay, okay..." I repeated. "Can you place one of those pillows behind his head." 

We could hear shouting behind the door that seperated our cellblock. "What was that?" Beth asked. 

"Prisoners, survivors. It’s alright, everybody stay put." He turned to Glenn. "Do not leave his side! If he dies, you need to be there for that. Think you can do this? Maggie will be there."

He nodded. "I got it."

"I can bring T in..."

"I got it," Glenn said more forcefully. 

"Good."

"Be careful," I told my brother.

"You got this," he told me, heading out.

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit..." I cursed, removing more bloodied towels and putting more to try to staunch the blood flow. 

"It has to stop eventually right? It slowed down quite a bit already," Lori said. 

"If we can get him through this…" Carol said, handing me more towels. 

" _When_ we get him through this," Lori corrected. 

"We’ll need crutches."

"That's the least of my worries right now," I said. "Right now, we could use some antibiotics. Pain killers, some sterile gauze. He could still go into shock due to the rapid blood loss. We got nothing for a blood transfusion. Of course, it had to be him...He could talk me through how to clamp off an artery."

"You're doing good, Paisley...If we didn't have you, I'm sure we'll be a lot worst for wear. He would be proud of you," Carol told me gently.

"There’s gotta be an infirmary here," Lori said. 

"If there’s one, we’ll find it. You gotta be worried sick about delivering the baby."

"Look at me. I look worried?" Lori asked. 

"You look disgusting."

They laughed. "So do you." Lori looked at Hershel. "We’ll get through this." 

Finally the bleeding stopped. "Thank god..." I whispered, placing more bandages on the wound. "Lori, how's his pulse?"

Lori placed her fingers against his neck. "Still weak...I think 30 beats..."

"Breathing?"

"Still shallow?"

"Does he feel warm."

"No...so, no fever." 

"Why don't you go get cleaned up, Paisley. You deserve a break," Carol told me. 

"Okay," I whispered, getting up. 

My hands were coated red with Hershel's blood, as well as my tank top, arms, and face from where his blood splattered when Rick was amputating his leg. "It was my idea..."

Lori placed a hand on my shoulder. "You made the right choice...Go. Take a minute." I headed towards my cell, changing my clothes and washing the best I could with the water bottles. Once I was semi-decent, I took a minute to just breath. 

I returned later, sitting in a chair, napping. They had handcuffed Hershel to the bed in case he turned. It was all a waiting game now. "Thought you were organizing the food," I heard Glenn say. 

My eyes opened to see my nephew smiling widely. "Even better! Check it out!" Carl dropped the bag and I got out of my chair to see what was in it. "Oh my god..." I whispered, seeing medical supplies. 

"Where did you get this?" Lori asked. 

"Found the infirmary. Wasn’t much left, but I cleared it out!"

I grabbed a package of sterile bandages, and handed them to Carol and Maggie as I went through the rest. I found the golden drug of penicillin and a syringe. "You went by yourself?" Lori asked.

"Yeah."

"Are you crazy?" Lori asked as she looked at him in shock. 

"No big deal, I killed two walkers!"

I sighed and ignored their incoming argument as I drew up the penicillin into the syringe. Grabbing one the of little alcohol wipes, I grabbed his arm, and used my shoe lace to find a vein in his arm. Once I found a nice and big juicy one, I cleaned the spot, and administered the penicillin. I went back to the supplies, and sorted through them. Seeing a bottle of alcohol, I went back to Hershel's leg. I undid the bandages, and poured some on to the wound, cleaning it free of debris with one of the clean bandages that Carl brought back. After twenty minutes, his wound looked a lot cleaner, and was elevated on the pillows. His pulse was still low, his breathing was still shallow, but at least he would be free of infection. 

"These bandages will help prevent infection," I said. "Along with the penicillin, and the rubbing alcohol."

Glenn smiled. "That’s good. It’s good that he taught you all these stuff."

"That and four long years of nursing school," I sighed.

Carol turned to Glenn. "I need your help with something."

Glenn and Carol left, and I sighed. "Hey...I'm gonna go take a nap over there...If anything happens wake me, okay?" I asked Maggie. 

She nodded, and then hugged me. "Thank you...For everything you've been doing."

"It's no problem," I said, hugging her. 

I went to lay down, and closing my eyes. About ten minutes into my nap, I heard Beth's frantic voice. "Do something! Somebody help! Somebody! Please, help!" I quickly jump off the bed, and rushed over as Lori came running in. I place my hands on Hershel's neck, not finding a pulse.

I quickly placed one hand on top of of the other, lacing my fingers, and began to do chest compressions. I gave him a couple of breaths of air, and resumed pumping on his chest. "Come on! Come on! Hershel, don't fucking do this to us!" I balled my fist up, and banged it on his chest with all my strength. He gasped, his eyes opening. He grabbed me, and I shrieked. Maggie pulled me away as Hershel fell back asleep, his breathing returning to normal. Hershel suddenly grabbed me, causign me to shriek, but Maggie pulled me out of the way. Hershel's Hershel suddenly grabs her, but Maggie pulls her out. Hershel’s awake, he falls back asleep, but he begins to breathe normally again. "Fuck me..." I whispered, my heart pounding. Poor Carl stood there, his hands shaking as he pointed his gun at Hershel. 

* * *

I sat near Hershel's bed, my head in my hands, as I silently prayed. Rick arrived in the cell, and I looked up. "Hershel stopped breathing, Aunt Paisley saved him," Carl explained.

"It’s true," Glenn said. 

"Still no fever," I tiredly told him. 

Hershel opened his mouth, and I jumped up, my heart stopping. Maggie moved to sit next to him. "Daddy?" she asked shakily. 

"Daddy! Daddy!" Beth exclaimed, seeing Hershel smile slightly. She laughed, feeling relieved. I let out a huge sigh of relief. My eyes watered in relief. I placed my hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat. It was still weak, but getting better. 

"Thank you for not dying!" I told him, laughing. We all left the family alone, and I made my way back to my cell, surprised to see Daryl there, taking off his boots. "Hey," I tiredly greeted. 

"Hey. How's Hershel."

"Alive and awake...How are you? What happened with those prisoners."

"One got bit, so we killed him. Two tried to kill Rick, so we killed them. The two remaining are living in one of the other cell blocks. Told them not to come over here." 

"Sounds exhausting," I yawned, taking off my own boots, and laying down on the bedroll. "I hope you don't mind but I'm physically and mentally exhausted." 

"That's alright," he said. 

"You're not going to your perch?" I asked. 

"Nah..." he smiled, sitting down on the bed. "As long as keep the door opened." 

I grinned, going over to push the cell door open. "Deal," I whispered. I walked back over, and layed down. Daryl pulled me over his body to place me against the wall, laying his crossbow against the bed. I smiled, my heart growing at the simple gesture. He was putting himself in harms way to protect me. I rolled over to face the wall, my eyes closing as he drapped an arm around my waist. It was one of the best sleeps in my life. 


	23. Home

"Alright, let’s get the other cars in. We’ll park ‘em in the west entry of the yard," Rick said as we moved our cars into the prison. 

"Good. Our vehicles camped out there look like a giant 'vacancy' sign!" Daryl said. 

"After that, we need to load up these corpses so we can burn them."

"It’s gonna be a long day…" T-Dog sighed. 

Carol got out of one of the cars, looking around. "Where’s Glenn and Maggie? We could use some help."

I smirked. "Where do you think? Up in the guard tower."

Rick looked confused. "Guard tower? They were just up there last night!"

We all looked up at the guard tower. "Glenn! Maggie!" Daryl called out. Glenn came rushing of the tower, without his shirt and buttoning his pants.

"Hey! What’s up guys?" he asked. 

We all started to laugh. "You comin’?"

I was nearly on the ground as I doubled over. "What?" Glenn asked, face turning red. 

"You comin’? Come on, we could use a hand!"

Glenn nodded, still looking embarressed. "Yeah, we’ll be right down!"

We walked towards the cars, still laughing. "Maybe we should use the guard tower, later," Daryl teased.

"What? Ew...One of the showers, maybe," I teased, stripping off my brown leather jacket.

"Hey Rick!" T-Dog called out. 

We all stopped to see the the two remaining prisoners walking towards us. "I thought you took care of them?" I asked my brother. 

"I did..." Rick growled, the smile vanishing form his face. "Come with me." Maggie and Glenn came down from their love nest, and came to follow us. "That’s close enough. We had an agreement."

"Please, mister. We know that, we made a deal," the blonde prisoner pleaded. "But you gotta understand! We can’t live in that place another minute, you follow me? All the bodies, people we knew! Blood, brains everywhere! There’s ghosts!"

"Why don’t you move the bodies out?" Daryl asked. 

"You should be burning them," T-Dog reminded them. 

"We tried! We did!"

"The fence is down on the far side of the prison. Every time we drag a body out, those things just line up. So hump in a body and just running back inside," the African American prisoner explained.

"Look! We had nothing to do with Thomas and Andrew, nothing! You trying to prove a point? You proved it, bro! We’ll do whatever it takes to be a part of your group, just, please, please, don’t make us live in that place!"

"Our deal is not negotiable. You either live in your cell block, or you leave."

The African American turned to look at his friend. "I told you this was a waste of time. They ain’t no different than the pricks who shot up our boys. You know how many friends’ corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw ‘em out like...Those were good guys! Good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in the joint like Thomas and Andrew. Now, we’ve all made mistakes to get in here, chief, and I’m not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me...we paid our due. Enough that we would rather hit that road, than to go back into that shithole."

Rick looked at Daryl, who shook his head no.

Daryl locked them out of the prison, leaving us discussing what to do with them. :Are you serious? You want them living in a cell next to you?" Rick asked T-Dog. "They’ll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons, you want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?"

"I never stopped. Bring them into the fold. If we send them off packing, we might as well execute them ourselves."

Glenn sighed. "I don’t know, Axel seems a little unstable."

"After all we’ve been through? We fought so hard for all this, what if they decide to take it?"

"It’s just been us for so long...They’re strangers. I don’t...it feels weird all of a sudden to have these other people around."

"I'm with the others," I said. "We have a pregnant woman, a kid, and a baby that's on its way. You really want them around us?"

"You brought us in," T-Dog explained, looking at Maggie. 

"Yeah, but you turned up with a shot boy in your arms, didn’t give us a choice."

"They can’t even kill walkers!" Glenn shouted. 

"They’re convicts, bottom line!" Carol said. 

"Those two might actually have less blood on their hands than we do."

Daryl's quiet voice finally spoke. "I get guys like this. Hell, I grew up with them. They’re degenerates, but they ain’t psychos. I could have been with them just as easy as I’m out here with you guys."

"So you with me?" T-Dog asked. 

Daryl scoffed. "Hell no! Let ‘em take their chances out on the road, just like we did!"

"What I’m saying, Daryl..." T-Dog tried to say.

Rick stopped him. "When I was a rookie, I arrested this kid. Nineteen years old, wanted for stabbing his girlfriend. The kid blubbered like a baby during the interrogation, during the trial, suckered the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence, and in 2 weeks later shot another girl. We’ve been through too much. Our deal with them stands." 

"Come on...Let's go get your bike," I said, pulling Daryl along. Daryl still watched the prisoners as we headed to grab his bike. "What's on your mind?" 

"How different my life would've been," he admitted. 

"Well, lucky for you, you were in the right place and the right time," I grinned. 

"Lucky me," he grinned. 

I leaned over his bike to kiss him. I felt eyes on me, and I pulled away. "We have an audience," I whispered. 

He tensed as the blonde prisoner walked over to us. "Twin cylinder, is that a Triumph?" the blonde prisoner asked. 

"Don’t even look at it."

"Didn't want it bored out? Sounds like it could use a tune-up, I'm pretty handy with the grind! Heads are leakin'! I know my bikes!"

Daryl and I walked away. "That was awkward," I muttered. 

"Yeah..." Daryl agreed, going his separate way. 

I went over to empty out of trunks of the cars. Things were going easy. I smiled at Hershel who was walking by himself with the help of crutches. "Looking good, Hershel," I smiled, walking up the stairs. 

"Thanks to you, Paisley. I can't thank you enough," he smiled. 

"I did what I could," I shrugged, blushing. "You had me going for a bit...Scared me to death a couple of times. I thought I was going to be a walker."

"Nah...You're tougher than that," he smiled. 

I went to the steps, hearing something shuffling behind me. My heart froze as I turned behind me. "Carl...CARL!" I shouted. 

Carl turned to see what I was seeing. "Walkers! Look out!" Carl cried out, shooting. 

"No!" Rick shouted, running towards us. 

Hershel tried to run, so I jumped down, covering him. "Get out! Get out of there! No! Lori!" Rick shouted, racing towards. 

"Hershel, go!" I shouted, covering him and Beth.

I continued shooting, heading towards a door of the prison. I saw Maggie get Carl and Lori to safety, so I made my way towards the prison for safety. "No!" 

I was already in another part of the prison, my heart pounding. I could hear walkers near by, so I gripped my gun tightly in my hand. I needed to make my way back up into our cell block, or at least outside to Rick and Daryl. "Carol?!" I half whispered. "T?" I continued to move, careful to keep my steps light and quiet like Daryl showed me when he was teaching me to hunt. "Lori? Maggie?! Anybody?!" I turned a corner, only to be grabbed from behind. I hand clamped over my mouth as I tried to scream. I brought my elbow back, hurting the man in the gut. Turning around, I saw one of the prisoners that was supposed to be dead. I turned my gun on him, but he swung an axe at my head. Ducking, I shouted and tried run. He gave a shout, and brought the axe down onto my head. I ducked again, only to get the wooden part slapped against my temple. "Ah!" I cried out, falling onto the ground. 

"Got you now, you fucking bitch," he sneered, looming over me. I reached for my gun, but he slapped me. He grabbed a piece of rope, and tied my hands together, and placed a gag in my mouth. Grabbing my long hair, he began to drag me towards the generator room, and back in a corner. 

I glared at the man as I grabbed my pocketknife from by back pocket. Opening it, I began to saw at the ropes. The door started to open and I panicked at the thought of walkers coming in. I was defenseless with no gun and only my knife. 

"How do you shut these down?" I heard my brother asked. 

I let out a breath of relief, screaming through the gag. 

"Go help him!" 

"I got it!"

I got my foot and started to kick one of the generators. To my relief but fear one of the prisoners came around to me. "Hey! Isn't this one of your girls?!"

Rick came over. "Paisley."

He bent down to remove my gag, but my eyes went wide as I screamed. Rick turned just in time for the bad prisoner to swing the axe at his head. I closed my eyes and ducked too, avoiding the deadly blade. Rick tried to shoot him, but his gun fell onto the ground. The African American prisoner started to head towards me, and threw something towards Rick and the other prisoner. Rick got up to see him pointing the gun at him. I screamed through the gag, tears of rage filling my eyes. "Shoot him! We can take back this prison. What you waiting for, do it! It’s our house, shoot him!" the prisoner said. 

Instead, he shot the bad prisoner, and handed the gun to Rick, moving over to remove the gag. "Thank you," I told him. "Thank you." 

"I got you," he said, untying my wrist. I got up and ran towards Daryl. He was leaning against the door, his eyes on my face. 

"You okay?" he asked, eyes full of anger and fury. 

I swallowed down the tears. "I'm alive aren't I?" I asked. "Where are the others?" 

"We don't know...Maggie, Lori, and Carl went in one direction. Beth said that T got bit. Carol was with him. Are you-"

"No..." I breathed out. "I was trying to get back to the cell block when the fucker ambushed me. I fought, but it's hard to win against an axe." 

Rick shut the generators off, coming over to us. "You okay?" he asked, studying my face. 

"Just a cut," I replied. 

"Come on," he said, taking me away from Daryl. 

We came across the body, which I recongized was T's. But all that was left of Carol was her scarf that she wore on her head that day. "No..." I whimpered. Carol was like a second mother to me.

We rushed back to the courtyard, Rick running towards where Hershel and Beth were stationary. "Hershel!"

"You didn’t find ‘em?" Hershel asked, distressed. 

"We thought maybe they came back out here," Glenn tod him. 

"What about T, Carol?"

"They didn’t make it," Daryl said quietly. 

"That doesn’t mean the others didn’t."

"We’re going back! Daryl and Glenn, you come with me. Paisely-"

We all stopped at the sound of a baby crying. I turned as did Rick to see Maggie opening the gate. Her shirt and pants were bloody, and Maggie held a small bundle in her arms. Maggie was sobbing as she walked closer to us. I instantly knew. I thought that this would happen. So, did Carol. But now reality was crashing down. My sister-in-law as dead. "Where is...where is she?" Rick asked, dropping his weapons. he headed back towards the prison, but Maggie stopped him.

"No, Rick, don’t!" she pleaded. 

Rick began to sob, looking at the broken Carl. "Oh no...No! No!"

Glenn went to his girlfriend, holding her as she kept crying.

"Rick..." I whispered, catching my brother as he fell to the ground, screaming. "Shh..." 

"AHHH! No..." he cried. 

"Shh..." I whispered, holding my broken brother as he fell apart. I knew from that moment, he wasn't going to be the same again. 


	24. Lil Ass Kicker

Things moved pretty quickly after the gut crushing realization that Lori was dead. We managed to get the rest of our group back inside, going over to the middle where old tables were. "Rick. you with me?"

"Let me see the baby," I said. Maggie brought her over, and Hershel came hobbling over, with a stethoscope. 

"Thank you," I said, placing it against the baby's chest. "It's a girl," I whispered to myself. Her heartbeat was strong and steady. I mentally ran an APGAR score in my head. 

"That are we gonna feed it? We got anything a baby can eat?" Daryl asked. 

Shit...That was a real world problem. I sniffed. I couldn't fall apart. I fell apart when I thought Rick was gone. I fell apart when our parents died. But Rick and Carl needed me now to be strong. As did my new niece. "Her APGAR is good. The good news is she looks healthy. But she needs formula. And soon or she won't survive." 

Daryl surprised me by shaking my head. "Nope. No way. Not her. We ain't losing anybody else. I'm going for a run." 

"I'll back you up," Maggie said, her eyes red. 

"'ll go, too," Glenn said. 

Daryl nodded. "Okay, think where we're going. Beth. Kid just lost his mom. His dad ain't doing so hot. And Paisey-"

"I'm fine," I told him.

He shot me a look. "No, you ain't. You need Hershel to look at that cut on your head."

"I'll look out for him...And her," Beth said, adding me to her list. 

The baby stared to cry, so I picked her up, holding her close to my body for heat. 

"You two get the fence. Too many pile up, we got ourselves a problem. Glenn, Maggie, vamonos."

"Come on," Hershel told me, hobbling over to his cell. "Bethy? Can you get us the med kit?" 

"Yeah," she said, quickly grabbing it. 

I sat on his cot as he grabbed some rubbing alcohol and clean gauze. "Do you have a headache? Blurred vision?"

"No...I honestly can't feel anything at the moment," I admitted as he poured the alcohol on the wound. 

"Shock...Adrenaline. You're pupils are slightly dilated. The shock and adrenaline could be masking symptoms of a concussion. I want to keep an eye on you. You need a couple of stitches. Eventually, you'll start to feel something."

"I can't feel right now, Hershel. My sister-in-law is dead. My brother just lost the love of his life. My nephew just lost his mother." 

"I know...You don't have to be strong all the time, Paisley. It's okay to let go. Let others help you. Daryl, me, Beth, Maggie, Glenn...We're all here."

I snorted. "Daryl's not the type of guy to express his feelings."

Beth handed Hershel some thread and a needle. "He does around you," Beth admitted. "We all know that he loves you."

I blushed, barely feeling the needle hitting my skin. "What?! Beth, you're crazy. Daryl-"

"He does love you! Maggie told me the other day! I heard Carol and Lori talking about you two the other day as well. Carol was going to push Daryl to tell you how he felt." 

I played with my hands as Hershel continued to stitch up my head, thinking. I knew that I loved Daryl. I was in love with Daryl Dixon. I don't know when it happened. Maybe it was the first time he called me Princess. Maybe it was the first time he actually opened up to me. But with him, I felt stronger. I felt whole. I felt loved and protected. I wasn't perfect, and he certainly wasn't. But we fit together perfectly. I was just afraid on what he was going to say or what lack of words he was going to say. I would die of embarrassment right then and there. 

"All done." 

"Thank you," I replied, looking down at the baby in my arms. "What now?" 

Hershel smiled, touching one of the baby's tiny hands. "You're the expert on humans. You tell me."

"We gotta keep her warm..." I said. "I need some clean clothes. I need to find Carl. Get Rick..."

"Hey...You okay?" Glenn asked, coming over. 

"Concussion and stitches. What are you doing here?"

"Daryl took his bike. Can only take one. Maggie really wanted to know. God, Paisley...I'm so sorry. What can I do?" Glenn asked. 

I took a deep breath, all eyes on me. I realized that they were looking at me to lead. Daryl was gone. Rick was-He wasn't here. It was me. "Glenn...Check the perimeter. Take those two prisoners with you. They've proven themselves against that jackass. What's their names anyway?"

"Oscar and Axel," Glenn said. "Oscar is the one that saved you." 

"Okay...I'm gonna go get some clean clothes. Has anybody seen Carl?" 

"I'll go check on him," Beth said. 

"Thank you," I said. 

"What about Rick."

I shook my head. "I-I don't know." 

I headed back to my room, grabbing a clean pair of underwear and a bra. I changed into a t-shirt, one of Daryl's flannels, a pair of shorts, and a pair of socks and boots. I grabbed the baby, tucking her close to my body, and pulling the flannel around us. She looked very displeased by the cold and began to make tiny whimper sounds. "Hey, sweetpea...I know. I know...It's a big and scary world out there. But lucky for you, you have the best big brother in the world, and the best father. He may not be here right now, but he will. And you have me...The worst's most awesomest aunt. Lucky for you, I know how to change diapers and feed babies. I had practice on your brother. Your mom would've loved you. She risked her life for you, but you are so loved. You are protected." 

"Aunt Paisley?" 

I turned to see Carl standing there, head down. "Hey, Kid...Come here."

He came rushing over to me, and I held him in one arm as he cried into my stomach. "Shh, shh, shh...It's gonna be okay." 

"I had to do it..." he sobbed. "He told me-"

"Hey...No one is blaming you, okay?" I told him, wiping away his tears with my free hand. "You did what you had to do. Your mom knew the risks. I'm so sorry, Carl. But you're not alone, okay? Both of you...You're not alone." He nodded, and continued to cry. I ushered him over so we sat on the bed. When he was one, he pulled back and wiped his tears. "You wanna hold you sister?" I asked. He smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Okay...You're gonna hold her like a football okay? Support her head." Carl did as he was told and he smiled as she gurgled. "She looks like you when you were that little." That made Carl's smile bigger. And maybe things were going to be okay. 

* * *

"Hey, hey, hey..." I muttered, walking back and forth as I bounced the baby in my arms. "It's okay...It's okay. God, where are they?"

"They should be back soon," Glenn said, probably wondering the same thing I was. "Hopefully." 

I was relieved to see Daryl and Maggie return, with arm full of baby supplies. "Beth," Maggie called out, hugging her sister. 

Daryl walked over to me and Carl. "How's she doing? Shh," he muttered, touching the baby's tiny hand. 

Carl looked ashamed. "I'm sorry." 

"Shh...come on. Come on," Daryl said, reading the package on the formula can and making a bottle with the boiled water. He gently took her from me, and expertly began to feed her. My heart burst in my chest as I watched him. In my mind, I could picture us two lying in a bed, with Daryl holding a tiny baby girl while I watched on sweaty and tired. Instead, she would have brown curls and her daddy's blue eyes. "She got a name yet?"

I broke out of my daydream and I shook my head. "I was leaving that to Big Brother." 

Carl shook his head. "Not yet. But I was thinking maybe Sophia. Then there's Carol, too. And..." He sighed sadly. "Andrea. Amy. Jacqui. Patricia. Or...Lori. I don't know." 

The baby grunted in Dary;'s arms, causing him to chuckle. "Yeah...you like that? Huh? Little ass-kicker. Right? That's a good name, right? Little ass-kicker. You like that, huh? You like that, sweetheart?" I stood at his side, placing my finger in her tiny fist. "How are you?" he asked, his voice low. 

"Couple of stitches. Concussion. I don't know..." I sighed. "I can't really feel anything at the moment. Hershel said it was probably due to adrenaline." 

After the baby was fed and burped, I handed her off to Beth. "Hey...I'm gonna stay in your cell, okay?" I told my nephew. "Until your dad gets back. I'm just gonna go take a nap for a little bit, okay? Wake me if you need anything. Stay close to Hershel, or Glenn okay?"

"Okay...I love you, Aunt Paisley," Carl muttered. 

"I love you too," I smiled. 

By the time I got back to my cell, my head was pounding. I was crushed. I lost my sister, my friend, and my mother figure all in one day. I laid down on my back, placing a hand over my eyes as silent tears and sobs shook my body. "Hey," Daryl said gently. 

"Hi," I croaked out, seeing him walk towards me. He sat on the bed, and I looked up at him. "My sister's dead."

Daryl nodded. "I know." 

I shieled my eyes as I sobbed lightly, my heart getting crushed. I felt his lips kiss my tears away, and I shuddered. "I'm sorry...My head is pounding, and I-"

"We lost one of our group...I get it, darlin'," he whispered. "Carol, T, Lori..." I moved my hand to wipe a few fallen tears away. "You're not alone...What can I do to help?"

"Kiss me," I muttered. He leaned down to kiss me on the lips, then moving to my cheek, the other cheek, my eyes, the bandage that covered my wound, and down to kiss the spot where my heart was pounding. "Have I told you that I loved you yet?" He froze, leaning up to look at me. My face felt hot as I blushed in embarrassment. "Because I do. I am so in love with you, Daryl Dixon. You're...amazing. So strong. You keep me strong. You understand me better than I better understand myself." 

"Paisley..." he said, still frozen. 

"You don't have to stay it if you don't mean it or if you're not ready...I just wanted you to know in case I get bit or scratch or die suddenly. I feel like I'm gonna die right now with embarrassment."

Tears were welling up in my eyes again at said embarressment. "I-I love ya too," he whispered. 

I opened my eyes that were closed. "You do?" I asked. 

He nodded. "I...I know that I'm not good enough for ya. But...I do. I'm in love with ya, Princess." I smiled, and closed my eyes as I relaxed against the bed. "I...I just want to let ya know that I'm not the type of person to tell it to ya every minute like Glenn and Maggie."

I chuckled. "I know," I said. "What if we just changed the word...Make it our own. We're not exactly traditional here." 

"No, we ain't," he said. 

"What about...'I wolf you'." 

He grinned wider. "I wolf you. Yeah...That's fitting." 

I grinned. "I like it...It's like you're part of my pack."

"I am your pack, darlin'. And I;m gonna show ya." 

I whimpered as his lips moved down my body to the spot I needed him most. I grabbed his hair, and pulled him up. "Make me a promise," I whispered, pushing his shirt off his body. 

"Anything," he said, removing my shirt. 

My hands found his belt, pushing his pants down to his knees. "Promise me that you'll say goodbye," I whispered, kissing him. He kissed me back, removing my shorts and underwear. I cried out as he pushed into me, my hands clutching his back. 

"Shit, darlin," he grunted. 

"Oh god..." I moaned, my legs coming up to bracket his hips. 

He began to move, causing shocks of pleasure to rush through me. "Daryl..." I moaned, finding his lips with my own. 

He pulled back, moving his face to the spot between my neck and shoulder, laying a gentle kiss then biting my skin. I shouted in pleasure, clutching his back tightly. "Promise me..." I moaned. "D-Daryl...P-promise me that you'll say g-goodbye, oh god! Right there!" 

"I promise," he grunted. 

"So close," I panted, feeling myself reach towards the edge. "Say it..." 

"I love you," he said gruffly. 

I cried out, my walls shattering around him. He grunted, thrusting once more, then stilling as he came. His hips continued to move, before stopping altogether. He rolled off of me, and I cuddled into his side, my back to the wall. "I wolf you," I said sleepily. 

I felt him kiss my forehead. "I wolf you too..." 


	25. Fresh

I groaned as someone tapped on my cell. "Aunt Paisley?" 

I rolled over, and grabbed a pair of Daryl's boxers and his flannel, crawling over him. I rubbed my eyes, heading to the door of the cage. The cell door was opened, a condition for Daryl sleeping in the same cell as me. "Hey, Carl. What's wrong?"

"The baby is crying and Beth can't get her quiet." 

"Okay...I'll be there in a minute," I told him. "Let me get dressed."

"Okay."

"Where's your dad?" I asked. 

"I don't know. He didn't come in last night."

"Okay...I'm coming. Be there in five." 

Carl headed back towards his cell and I went back into the cell, grabbing a clean pair of underwear. "Everything okay?" Daryl asked, sitting up. 

"No. Lil Asskicker is crying. Rick is MIA. Poor Carl is without both of his parents with a new baby sibling. It's like my family is falling apart." 

"What can I do?" Daryl asked, grabbing is own boxers and pulling them on. 

I sighed as he placed a hand on my back. "I don't know. Keep us safe. Get Rick back. Lori's body...I don't think she's there anymore. I went looking...for closure. And we still can't find Carol's."

"Whatever you need, I'm here."

I nodded, rubbing my temples. "I hate being the leader."

"But you're doing a good job at it. I like it when you're bossy." 

"Come on...It's morning anyway. I need to move my stuff into Rick and Carl's cell so I can watch the baby."

"Back to the perch for me," Daryl sighed as I repacked my bag. I headed towards the cell when I was done, grabbing Lil' Asskicker from Beth. 

"Hey, sweetpea...What's the matter, huh?" I asked, 

Carl stood near me, interested to see what I was doing. "Wanna learn how to make a bottle for your sister and feed her?"

He grinned. "Okay." 

"Grab one of those clean bottles, and some boiled water...Pour about six ounces..." I watched as he did what he was told. "Now, add three scoops of formula, and screw the cap back on...Great. Now, place the cap on and give it a good shake for a couple of seconds...." 

"How's that?" Carl asked, holding up the bottle. 

"Perfect...Why don't you sit on the bed. Remember how I taught you to hold her?"

"Yeah...I gotta watch her head."

"Right..." I grinned. Carl was a quick learner and a smart kid. I placed the baby in his arms, and be brought the bottle to her lips. "See? You're a natural!" 

I saw Glenn, and he gave me a nod. "I'm gonna go check on everything. If you need anything, I'll be back. If she finishes before I do, just burp her, and she'll probably fall back asleep. Okay?" 

"Okay," Carl said. 

"Beth will be around, alright?" 

I followed Glenn out, and followed him down to one of the lower levels of the prison. "Is he still down there?"

"Yeah." 

"Okay...How's the perimeter? Those two prisoners working out okay?"

"Yeah. Maggie and I were going to run on a run. See if we can find more ammo, things for the baby." 

"Thank you, Glenn," I said, giving him a hug. "You're still my best friend." 

Glenn squeezed me, the froze. I turned, to see my big brother looking very worst than wear. "Rick...Hey," I said, walking over to him. 

"Everybody okay?" he asked very quietly. 

"Yeah, we are," Maggie said. 

"What about you?" Hershel asked. 

"I cleared out the boiler block." 

Daryl narrowed his eyes. "How many were there?" 

"I don't know. A dozen, two dozen. I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl." 

"He's fine..." I told him.

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies. You don't have to," Glenn said gently. 

"No, I do. Everyone have a gun and a knife?" 

"Yeah. We're running low on ammo, though." 

"Maggie and me were planning on making a run this afternoon. Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula," Glenn explained. 

"We cleared out the generator room. Axel's there trying to fix it in case of emergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well. Paisley's been leading things." 

Rick's eyes looked haunted. "Good. Good." 

"Richard..." I called out, but he was already walking away. "God dammnit." 

"Has he ever been like this before?" Hershel asked. 

I shook. "No...But we're Grimes. After my attack, I was just like that. Rick and Lori weren't in a good place, but he loved her. I-I can't take care of him, the baby, and Carl at the same time. I just can't..." 

"I'll try to talk to him..." Hershel offered. 

"Thanks, Hershel," I sighed, heading back inside the prison. 

"I'm gonna go check the lower levels," Daryl informed me. 

"Hey. Can you do me a favor?" I asked. "Take Carl with you? I think he needs to get out of this cell block for a little bit." 

Daryl nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you," I said, reaching over to give him a quick kiss. "I wolf you."

"I wolf you," he replied, heading out. "Hey, Kid...Let's go outside for a little bit!" 

"Hey...We're heading out," Glenn told me, Maggie behind him. 

"Okay...Be careful, alright?" I told them. 

I gave them both hugs and waved them off, going down to check the perimeter and the generator room. "Axel?!" 

"Hey!" the man called out, coming around. 

"Hey. How she lookin'?" I asked. 

"Good, good...I think I figured it out."

"Thank you," I said. "I mean it...For everything." 

"No problem," he smiled. 

"Well, when you get hungry, we got some squirrel and deer meat. Daryl said he's going to figure out how to dry-freeze meat so we can still have jerky. Gross."

Axel laughed as I headed up. "Hey, kid," I greeted, seeing Carl back from being with Daryl. "How was it?" 

"Did you know what happened to Daryl's mom?" 

I sucked in a breath. "Yeah...I do."

Carl said nothing. "When can we start playing with her?"

I shrugged. "Three months?" I asked. 

Carl held her, and bounced her. The cell door opened, and I was surprised to see Rick. He still looked worst for wear, but he was here at least. "Hey," I smiled. 

"Hi..." he said hoarsely coming over to us. 

I touched one of the soft curls on the baby girl's tiny head. "Isn't she beautiful?" 

Rick swallowed, touching one of her hand. "She looks like you," Rick told Carl. 

"That's what I said."

"Hey, just- you got her?" Rick asked. 

"Yeah," Carl nodded, going to lay her down in the small pack and play that Daryl brought back when he and Maggie went out. 

"All right. Okay."

I pulled him out, and headed towards the stairs. "Rick," I sighed, sitting down and pulling him down next to me. 

Rick shook, dropping his head down into his hands. "I loved her..." 

"I know," I told him, kissing his cheek. I rested my head against his shoulder. "But you can show Lori that you loved her by loving that beautiful baby girl. By being her father. Okay? She's all we have left. We do Lori right by taking care of that child." 

Rick sobbed, grabbing onto me. I patted his back, and held him. I shushed him, and peppered his face with kisses, waiting for him to calm down. It was a long road, but he was coming back. 


End file.
